Superfish–A Better Way To Search Online
We’ve all done it–painstakingly typed text into a search engine, only to be given images that are totally not related to what we entered.
With Superfish, that annoyance soon could be a thing of the past….
What Superfish Does
Traditionally, what you get out of an image search is based on text analysis. The search engine analyzes areas such as the image’s file name, captions and so forth. Metatags, which are coding statements that describe web content, also are very important to this process.
Superfish has created a new way for Internet users to search that abandons the legacy text systems. Their products allow you to upload any image as a query. The search tool then analyzes based on algorithms, looking not at text, but specific components of the image, such as geometry. It compares these elements to billions of other images already online, looking for similarities. It then retrieves images with elements that match, ranking those with more similarities higher. The work doesn’t stop there–the tool pays attention to the results you then click on, fine tuning what you see next based on your activity.
Why Superfish Is A Huge Deal
Sure, there are times where all you want a do is find a picture of something specific for your kid to color. But image search can be a powerful way for you to regain control as a consumer. Suppose, for instance, you see a desk that’s almost perfect for your office in a store. You can snap a photo of the chair, upload it and do an image search to find other chairs like it. That means you quickly and easily can do cost comparison or see if better products are out there, making it more likely you’ll get what you want when you want it at a fair price.
And applications of Superfish’s technology aren’t limited to commercial shopping, either. The same kinds of tools can provide images for business professionals (marketers, managers, HR representatives, etc.), students, artists or even people needing to communicate when abroad.
Products
As of 2014, Superfish offers two separate applications, including Like That Décor, and PetMatch. Like That Décor, the most recently released of the apps, focuses on letting you search for furniture and related interior design products, while PetMatch lets you search your area for animals that are up for adoption.
Additional Details
Superfish has been operating since 2006, when it was founded by CEO Adi Pinhas and CTO Michael Chertok. As noted on Crunchbase, investors have pledged some $19.4 million to the business as of October, 2014, and The San Francisco Business Times listed it as #4 on its list of fastest growing companies in the Bay Area.
Conclusion
Superfish’s mission is to revolutionize the way people look for, use and share visual content. The company’s technology has a wide range of applications and appears to be well worth investment, as demonstrated by current reported funding and growth rankings.
