Sparrho
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
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| url = [http://www.sparrho.com www.sparrho.com]
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| programming_language = Clojure{{cite web|url=http://stackshare.io/sparrho/sparrho|title=Sparrho's technology stack|work=StackShare}}
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| author = Vivian Chan, Nilu Satharasinghe
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Sparrho combines human and artificial intelligence to help research professionals and layman users stay up-to-date with new scientific publications and patents.{{cite web|url=http://blog.sparrho.com/about|title=About Sparrho|work=Sparrho}} Sparrho's recommendation engine provides personalized scientific news-feeds by using proprietary machine learning algorithms to "aggregate, distill and recommend" relevant content.{{cite web|url=http://www.oxbridgebiotech.com/review/business-development/sparrho-discovery-platform-birds-eye-view-science/|title=Sparrho: the discovery platform with a bird's eye view on science|work=Oxbridge Biotech Roundtable}} The platform aims to complement traditional methods of finding relevant academic material such as Google Scholar, and PubMed with a system which enables the serendipitous discovery of content and across relevant scientific fields.{{cite web|url=http://digitalmedia.strategyeye.com/article/JhAO5vNc8Vg/2014/09/02/interview_content_recommendation_platform_sparrho_talks_stay/|title=INTERVIEW: Content Recommendation Platform Sparrho Talks Staying On Top Of Science|work=StrategyEye - Digital Media}}
Recommendation engine
Sparrho uses a "three-pronged approach" to content recommendation. Firstly, "data-data analysis" is tackled using techniques such as natural language processing to provide appropriate research based on data provided by users.{{cite web|url=http://blog.sparrho.com/post/98321187242/peeking-under-the-hood-sparrhos-discovery-engine|title=Peeking under the hood: Sparrho's Discovery Engine|work=Sparrho}} Secondly, "user-user interactions" are utilized to propose a wider range of potentially relevant subject areas to users with similar interests.{{Cite book |last1=Glenski |first1=Maria |last2=Weninger |first2=Tim |title=Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining 2017 |chapter=Predicting User-Interactions on Reddit |date=2017-07-31 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1145/3110025.3120993 |series=ASONAM '17 |location=New York, NY, USA |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=609–612 |doi=10.1145/3110025.3120993 |isbn=978-1-4503-4993-2|arxiv=1707.00195 |s2cid=649910 }} Finally, "user-data interactions" such as labeling articles as "relevant" or "irrelevant" within a particular scientific field allows Sparrho to personalize user newsfeeds.{{cite web|url=http://www.sparrho.com/how-it-works/|title=Sparrho - How does our recommendation engine for science work?|work=Sparrho}}
History
Sparrho was founded in 2013 by Vivian Chan and Nilu Satharasinghe as a solution to issues Chan encountered over the course of her biochemistry PhD at the University of Cambridge, especially in staying up to date with scientific literature {{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/01/cambridge-university-internet-tech-startup|title=Cambridge's leading tech startups|author=Nicola Davis|work=The Guardian|date=December 2013 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.joinef.com/why-ef/|title=Why EF|work=ef.}}{{cite journal|url=http://www.nature.com/news/how-to-tame-the-flood-of-literature-1.15806|title=How to tame the flood of literature|journal=Nature News & Comment|date=2014 |doi=10.1038/513129a |last1=Gibney |first1=Elizabeth |volume=513 |issue=7516 |pages=129–130 |pmid=25186906 }} Initially established at Ideaspace in West Cambridge, and moving subsequently to Camden Collective{{cite web|url=http://blog.sparrho.com/post/100100099802/sparrho-finds-a-new-nest|title=Sparrho finds a new nest!|work=Sparrho}} and the Ministry of Startups{{cite web|url=http://startups.co.uk/tech-pitch-sparrho/|title=Tech Pitch: Sparrho|work=Startups.co.uk}} in London, the company is now based in the data science hub SHACK15 in Shoreditch, London.{{cite web|url=http://news.shack15.com/this-search-engine-uses-ai-to-keep-scientists-updated/|title=This Search Engine Uses AI to Keep Scientists Updated|work=SHACK15 News}}
In 2014, Chan was a semi-finalist for the 2014 Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award,{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk/Content/Finalists|title=National Business Awards 2014 - Finalists|work=nationalbusinessawards.co.uk}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Vivian-Chan-Sparrho-semifinalists-competing-Duke-York-New-Entrepreneur-Year-Award-week/story-22510610-detail/story.html|title=Vivian Chan of Sparrho one of ten semi-finalists competing for the Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award next week|work=Cambridge News}} and in 2015, Chan was included on the 35 Women Under 35 list compiled by Management Today.{{cite web|url=http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/go/35-women-under-35-2015-features|title=I've never been regarded as weak' - 35 Women Under 35 2015|work=Management Today}} In 2016, Sparrho was a semi-finalist in Pitch@Palace 5.0.{{cite web|url=http://blog.sparrho.com/post/140388251747/sparrho-will-attend-pitchpalace-50-hosted-by-hrh|title=Sparrho will attend Pitch@Palace 5.0 hosted by HRH The Duke of York at St James Palace on 7th March 2016|work=Sparrho}}
As of July 2017, Sparrho has raised $3 million from investors including White Cloud Capital, AllBright, and Beast Ventures.{{cite web | url=https://venturebeat.com/2017/07/10/sparrho-raises-3-million-to-democratize-access-to-scientific-research/|title=Sparrho raises $3 million to democratize access to science research|work=VentureBeat}}
Competitors
Sparrho's primary competitors are PubChase and Scizzle,{{cite web|url=http://blogs.plos.org/tech/diving-haystack-make-hay/|title=Diving into the haystack to make more hay?|work=plos.org}} though both PubChase and Scizzle are targeted towards biomedical sciences and solely recommend academic journal papers.{{cite web|url=http://www.pubchase.com/|title=PubChase - discover life sciences research of interest to you.|work=PubChase}}{{cite web|url=http://www.myscizzle.com/Index/faq|title=Scizzle - Frequently Asked Questions|work=Scizzle}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.sparrho.com}} (no longer available)