GetWhy Secures $34.5 Million Series A Funding to Revolutionize Market Research with AI
GetWhy, a pioneering consumer research tech firm that leverages AI to enhance market studies and extract insights from video-based interviews, has successfully raised $34.5 million in a Series A funding round led by California-based venture capital firm, PeakSpan Capital. This significant investment reflects the growing enthusiasm among investors to support innovative AI companies, especially those that have already gained traction with high-profile clients, including Nestlé, McDonald’s, Nike, and L’Oréal.
GetWhy’s advanced platform allows users to articulate their research goals, such as gauging initial reactions to a new campaign concept. The startup’s AI agent then creates a tailored market study template based on this input. Customers can easily upload the materials they wish to test, which may include visuals or slogans, and can recruit respondents from their target demographic. GetWhy offers a shareable link for customers to distribute to their audience or can manage recruitment directly. Impressively, the startup claims it can finalize this process within just 24 hours.
“Our platform integrates with global consumer panels, supported by a specialized recruitment team for expedited participant selection,” said GetWhy’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jonas Nielsen. “We conduct unmoderated interviews online via video, allowing us to capture consumer insights from both desktop and mobile platforms.”
A key feature of GetWhy is Bloom, its innovative AI platform that analyzes video responses and distills them into meaningful qualitative insights. Bloom's generative AI model is based on extensive training from hundreds of thousands of interview sessions.
“The AI comes into play when, for instance, 10 consumers have been interviewed,” Nielsen explained. “It mimics the work of a human researcher by reviewing all video content and pinpointing relevant quotes that address the business inquiries from the qualitative study.”
In essence, the AI analyzes the footage, extracts quotes, and identifies trends to enhance insights. “What would typically take a researcher days or weeks can now be accomplished in under 25 minutes thanks to our AI technology,” Nielsen added.
The Journey of GetWhy
The intersection of AI with various sectors is transforming slow, traditional processes into efficient operations.
Founded in Denmark in 2011 as UserTribe, GetWhy initially operated as a consultancy under a "time and material" business model, where consumer firms paid for user research and testing. In 2017, CEO Jonas Alexandersson appointed Casper Henningsen as chief commercial officer, who advanced to CEO the following year. Henningsen, a former professional soccer player, shifted from sports to marketing and branding roles before joining UserTribe. Although he joined six years after its inception, Henningsen is recognized as a co-founder for transitioning UserTribe into a tech-focused company emphasizing AI.
The company, previously known as Sonar, rebranded to GetWhy in January due to a name conflict with another firm. PeakSpan Capital is the sole investor in GetWhy’s Series A—marking its first significant round of institutional funding—although the company had previously raised about $30 million from a combination of equity and debt, primarily from prominent Scandinavian business angels and entities like Denmark’s AL Bank and the Danish Growth Fund.
“This funding brings the company’s total capitalization to $64.5 million—finalized last Thursday evening, May 30," confirmed Henningsen.
GetWhy continues to lead the forefront of AI-driven market research, making significant strides in connecting businesses with actionable consumer insights through fast and efficient processes.
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