Looksery
{{infobox company
| name = Looksery
| logo = Looksery logo colored.png
| logo_size = 250
| type = Subsidiary
| key_people = {{unbulleted list|Victor Shaburov {{small|President}}|Yurii Monastyrshin {{small|COO}}|Alex Grytsiuk {{small|CTO}}|Lidiya Bogdanovych {{small|Head of Design}}}}Julie Krasnienko {{small|Marketing and Business Development Director}}
| industry = {{unbulleted list|Software|Photography}}
| num_employees = 45
| num_employees_year = 2016
| parent = Snap Inc. (2015–present)
| location_city = San Francisco
| location_country = United States
| foundation = {{start date and age|2013}}
| founders = {{unbulleted list|Victor Shaburov|Yurii Monastyrshin}}
| homepage = [http://www.looksery.com www.looksery.com]
}}
Looksery was an American software and photography company founded in 2013 by Victor Shaburov and Yurii Monastyrshin. The company is based in San Francisco and owned by Snap Inc. The company developed the Looksery application that does facial modification of photos in real time on mobile platforms.{{cite web|title=This Year Halloween Has Its Own Selfie App|date=October 31, 2014|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cosmin-gheorghe/this-year-halloween-has-i_b_6085252.html|publisher=Huffington Post}}{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2014/10/30/generation-selfie-and-how-entrepreneurs-are-cashing-in/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031011701/http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2014/10/30/generation-selfie-and-how-entrepreneurs-are-cashing-in/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 31, 2014 |title=Generation Selfie And How Entrepreneurs Are Cashing In}}
The company has offices in the United States and Ukraine.{{cite web|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/startup-looksery-aims-to-beautify-your-selfie-videos/|title=Startup Looksery aims to beautify your selfie videos|publisher=CNET}}
History
Victor Shaburov founded Looksery company in 2013 in San Francisco. Shaburov was sponsoring a programming contest in Ukraine, which Yurii Monastyrshin won twice in succession. Victor offered him to become a co-founder of the startup. In 2014, offices were established in Odesa, Ukraine and Sochi, Russia.{{cite web|title=Create game characters who look like you with Looksery|first=Paula |last=Mooney|date=July 8, 2014|url=https://venturebeat.com/community/2014/07/08/create-game-characters-who-look-like-you-with-looksery/|publisher=Venture Beat}} Later, the company launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise funds,{{cite web|title=Looksery Launches On Kickstarter With An App That Makes You Look Better (Or Just Funnier) On Video Chat|date= June 4, 2014|first= Sarah |last=Perez |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/04/looksery-launches-on-kickstarter-with-an-app-that-makes-you-look-better-or-just-funnier-on-video-chat/|publisher=TechCrunch}}{{cite news|url=http://startupbeat.com/2014/06/25/looksery-passes-30k-funding-goal-id3866/|title=The next big Kickstarter success story?: 'Video selfie' app Looksery passes its $30K funding goal with 23 days still to go}} and exceeded their fundraising goal.{{cite web|title=Snapchat buys Looksery in reported $150 million deal, making it biggest acquisition of Ukraine tech player|date=September 16, 2015|first=Bozhena|last=Sheremeta|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/business/snapchat-buys-looksery-in-reported-150-million-deal-making-it-biggest-acquisition-of-ukraine-tech-player-398002.html|publisher=Kyiv Post}}
In September 2015, Looksery was acquired by Snap Inc. for $150 million, marking the biggest startup acquisition in Ukraine’s history.{{Cite web|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/business/snapchat-buys-looksery-in-reported-150-million-deal-making-it-biggest-acquisition-of-ukraine-tech-player-398002.html|title=Snapchat buys Looksery in reported $150 million deal, making it biggest acquisition of Ukraine tech player|website=www.kyivpost.com|access-date=2016-06-07}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/15/snapchat-looksery/|title=Snapchat Acquires Looksery To Power Its Animated Lenses}} Snapchat used the Looksery technology to launch a new feature, Lenses.{{cite web|url=http://uatoday.tv/techandscience/deal-of-the-year-snapchat-buys-ukrainian-startup-looksery-for-usd-150-mln-494701.html|title=Deal of the Year: Snapchat buys Ukrainian startup Looksery for USD 150 mln|date=September 16, 2015|publisher=UA Today}}
Application
Before Snapchat's acquisition, Looksery was available as a stand-alone application for iOS and Android.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/video-beautification-app-looksery-reaches-android-too/|title=Video beautification app Looksery reaches Android too}} Looksery’s mobile application enabled users to simulate their appearance for a photo or video chat in real-time.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/startup-looksery-aims-to-beautify-your-selfie-videos/|title=Startup Looksery aims to beautify your selfie videos}} Additionally, users could share photos and videos through popular social networks and messengers.{{cite web|title=Snapchat buys Looksery, a 2-year-old startup that lets you Photoshop your face while you video chat|first=Alyson|last= Shontell|date= September 15, 2015|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-buys-looksery-2015-9|publisher=Business Insider}} When Snapchat launched its product, Lenses, Looksery was withdrawn as a stand-alone product.{{cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/community/2014/07/08/create-game-characters-who-look-like-you-with-looksery/|title=Create game characters who look like you with Looksery}} In June 2014 Looksery launched on crowdfunding site Kickstarter an app that makes you look better on video chat.{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/04/looksery-launches-on-kickstarter-with-an-app-that-makes-you-look-better-or-just-funnier-on-video-chat/|title=Looksery Launches On Kickstarter With An App That Makes You Look Better (Or Just Funnier) On Video Chat|last=Perez|first=Sarah|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2017-10-26|language=en}}
Reception
Looksery garnered a lot of media attention.{{cite web|title=Video beautification app Looksery reaches Android too|date=February 24, 2015|publisher=CNET|first=Stephen|last=Shankland|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/video-beautification-app-looksery-reaches-android-too/}}{{cite web|title=Generation Selfie And How Entrepreneurs Are Cashing In|first=Drew |last=Hendricks |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2014/10/30/generation-selfie-and-how-entrepreneurs-are-cashing-in/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031011701/http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2014/10/30/generation-selfie-and-how-entrepreneurs-are-cashing-in/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 31, 2014|work=Forbes|date= October 30, 2014}} Vogue selected Looksery as one of the ten Best Apps of 2014 and wrote that "it’s truly addictive and instantly fills you with the childlike energy and creativity of playing make-believe".{{cite news|url=http://www.vogue.com/6840013/best-apps-of-2014/|title=From Face-Morphing to Speed-Reading, the 10 Best Apps of 2014}} TechCrunch called it "a clever application that lets you change your facial features..."{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/04/looksery-launches-on-kickstarter-with-an-app-that-makes-you-look-better-or-just-funnier-on-video-chat/|title=Looksery Launches On Kickstarter With An App That Makes You Look Better (Or Just Funnier) On Video Chat}} and Inc. wrote that "[it] is an example of technology that may make it easier for camera-shy folks to sit through live video calls or take pictures in the future."{{cite web|url= http://www.inc.com/john-boitnott/looksery-wants-you-to-accept-that-live-video-call.html|title= Looksery Wants You to Accept That Live Video Call|publisher=Inc.|first=John|last=Boitnott|date=July 30, 2014}}
Awards
In 2014, Looksery won the Best Innovative Startup Award at the SVOD annual conference in Silicon Valley.{{cite web|title=Looksery Effects App Wins Startup Award at SVOD'14 Conference|date=June 20, 2014|first= Benjamin|last= J. Roethig|url=http://geekbeat.tv/looksery-app-wins-startup-award-svod14-conference/|publisher=GeekBeat}}