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The all-in-one content moderation platform will leverage artificial intelligence and deep learning technology to reach new levels of automation and accuracy.
Stockholm-based Besedo, a leader in User-Generated Content (UGC) moderation has merged with ioSquare, a French startup company specializing in automated content moderation. The agreement is a cash-and-share deal that sees ioSquare, valued at €5 million, take a stake in Besedo, making the joint entity a global market leader.
The merger will fuel marketplaces with a highly accurate and cost-effective best-of-breed solution. Combining Besedo’s human moderation services and ioSquare’s cutting-edge automation technology makes the merger truly unique.
The solution will also be plugging a gap customers have been crying out for, as Maxence Bernard, CEO at ioSquare, explains: “No solution currently addresses the full spectrum of content moderation needs today. We see in-house platforms or stopgap solutions that only address part of the problem in the market.”
“We are now able to offer a fully-integrated platform, where human intelligence and artificial intelligence complement each other to deliver best-in-class results. The combination of state-of-the-art deep learning technology and skilled manual workforce will allow us to reach new levels of accuracy and efficiency and place us right at the heart of the content moderation tools and services ecosystem,” agreed Bernard.
“The market is moving quickly and we see real opportunities for rapid growth,” said Patrik Frisk, CEO at Besedo. “The baseline expectation is that the deal will see us double in size in three years in terms of revenue, from the €17 million of sales expected in 2016. However, more importantly we expect a hypergrowth in the amount of data we process, which could be as high as ten times the current volumes.”
This growth will be supported by the expected boom of the sharing economy over the coming years.
As Frisk explains, there will be opportunities to add new technology and services in the future: “Initially, we will be offering a solution focusing on text and images. However, we are already looking at how we might add video and virtual reality soon and expand into social media and e-commerce. The opportunities over the coming years are huge. This merger will allow the new company to innovate and lead the market truly.”
Post-merger, new offices are planned for Asia and the US to aid faster growth, adding to its existing offices in Sweden, Colombia, Malaysia, Malta, Romania and France. There are also plans for an initial public offering in Stockholm in two to five years as Frisk explains: “We have a plan for an IPO in probably two to five years. We want to get traction on this, and then it makes sense to look at that option. There could also be other alternatives, but I think that’s our main call right now.”
Notes to editors:
Besedo – Stockholm-based Besedo is a leading content moderating solution provider with around 500 employees and 20 clients including the likes of Ebay Inc, classified and advertisements company OLX Inc. and Schibsted ASA-sites.
ioSquare –  Paris-based ioSquare specializes in the automation of content moderation. Its technology leverages state-of-the-art machine learning and natural language processing techniques, for unprecedented results.
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Global, full-service leader in content moderation
We provide automated and manual moderation for online marketplaces, online dating, sharing economy, gaming, communities and social media.
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