Sergey Tokarev tells us about the success of Reface. The app has been downloaded by 75 million users. The app also attracted $5.5 million investment from Andreessen Horowitz. Reface also earned the Best App on Google Play. The app had so much charm and glamor that dozens of world-class celebrities collaborated with it. Reface is in its first year, but has enjoyed so much success that seldom startups do. Reface is a face swapping app on GIF images and videos. Sergey Tokarev is an investor of the company. He tells us about how the startup has achieved so much in such short time.
First Quarter- A Million Downloads
Reface is a global company headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine. It has more than 100 employees, but things were a lot different back in the day. The story of the company goes back to 2011 when a group of Ukrainian developers wanted to change the world by modernizing machine learning methods. However, the developers’ mind changed. They worked on to developing their own artificial intelligence technology that would be able to replace faces in images in a quality manner. The developers’ hardwork bear the fruit as a unique technology developed in the form of Reface.
Sergey Tokarev says the unique thing about Reface is that it can swap faces on GIFs and videos and no competitor has developed such technology. He says the app can be downloaded from the AppStore and Google Play.
Launching Success
In January 2020, the app was released. The app reached the first-million-download mark within three months. The total downloads so far has crossed 75 million. The app dominated the AppStore in the US and other countries as well. Sergey Tokarev says Google Play listed Reface in the Best Apps 2020 list. Sergey Tokarev says the downloads are increasing day by day and more people are registering into the app for swapping their images.
Celebrities Usage
The app is user-friendly for all. It takes just seconds to swap faces using Reface. The popularity of the app reached world-class celebrities as well. Sergey Tokarev says celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Joe Rogan, Chris Brown, Dua Lipa, along with others used the app and shared the results on their social media.
Reface was also used by celebrities and brands to promote their products. Justin Bieber, Amazon Prime and Red Bull used Reface for promotional purposes. The largest telecommunications companies in France SFR collaborated with Cristiano Ronaldo through the Reface app. JBL and UAnimals also used Reface.
Financials
The potential of Reface was recognized by the investors. In November, Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz funded $5.5 million in Reface. This was not the only major investment for the company. Justin Bieber and Britney Spears’ managers also invested in Reface, along with Uber, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter.
The Andreessen Horowitz funds will be used to develop the technology. It will also be used to expand the company’s collaborations with music labels, film studios, and influencers.
