Largo closes the last leg of its seed investment round with CHF 1.1 million 

07.12.2021 10:58, Isabelle Mitchell

Largo, an EPFL spin-off providing next-generation storytelling tools for the movie and advertisement industry, has expanded its total seed equity investment to CHF 1.9 million with an additional CHF 1.1 million. The oversubscribed round will accelerate Largo’s expansion into new markets. The funds were contributed by its strategic partner Adline Entertainment and investors such as DAA Capital Partners, Collective63, and private investors. Largo was a Venture Kick winner in 2017 and one of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups in 2020. 

Largo provides data-assisted intelligence to the audio-visual industry with the proprietary technologies that show the recipes to success. Largo’s powerful AI engine, Largo.ai, has a cognitive pattern understanding system that can understand the ‘ingredients’ of video, audio, and text data. The system converts these cognitive patterns to meaningful insights that can be used by movie producers, writers, distributors, and advertisement agencies to help them to understand their movies and audiences better.
 
There is a growing void within both the film and TV industries in regard to the use of data-assisted technology between companies involved in the production and distribution phases. Most producers have continued to rely on the traditional approach while the big streaming platforms have revolutionized production by implementing data-assisted intelligence. 

Streaming giants rely on their proprietary systems and data; however, conventional producers suffer from limited access to the latest technologies and data pools, which increases the risks of a poor return on investment. Indeed, this fact is so severe that it threatens their ability to sustain their very existence in the media ecosystem. Founded to be a solution to this problem, Largo provides data-assisted intelligence to all segments of the audio-visual industry via its SaaS platform Largo.ai. 
 
Today, Largo.ai technologies are trusted by scores of producers in Hollywood and the European movie industry. Hundreds of films have already utilized Largo.ai tools for content insights, casting propositions, and financial forecasts. Some of the movies that used the platform have been successfully released on platforms like Netflix and Amazon, and many others into the global box office too. Some have been nominated for important awards, such as an Academy Award.
 
Recently, Largo has also announced the launch of a new extension of Largo.ai for companies creating commercials and online video advertisements. It has adapted this exciting new tool in a partnership with Stories AG, a Zurich-based producer, which has created many award-winning commercials for leading brands in Switzerland.
 
Sami Arpa, co-founder and CEO of Largo, commented on the recent funding round: “Largo.ai is emerging as an important player to serve a vital need in the audio-visual industry, which still heavily relies on traditional methods. After creating a successful go-to-market strategy, now it is time to fuel it with more funds and accelerate our growth.”



Largo was supported by Innosuisse, Fondation pour l'Innovation Technologique: FIT, EPFL, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, Canton de Vaud, Venture Kick, Plug & Play, and MediaDesk Suisse.


Source: Largo press release