StoryStream Raises Funds to Add AI Features

London-based content provider StoryStream has raised $1.2m in a funding round, and will use it to add artificial intelligence (AI) to its offering. To lead this initiative, former SmartFocus exec Janet Bastiman has joined as Chief Science Officer.

StoryStream enables users to find, manage and publish content, and its 'Content Acceleration Platform' centralises and displays all social media, advocacy and review content to engage visitors and move them through their buying journey. Through the new funding round (led by MMC Ventures which also led the firm's Series A £1.8m round last year), the firm will use AI to speed up the finding, managing and deploying of content to drive engaging content experiences for brands, while delivering insights for marketers.

Bastiman (pictured) joins to lead this new AI focus, having previously served as Chief Science Officer and CIO at marketing and customer intelligence software provider SmartFocus, where she set up a new Science and Innovations division whose team of researchers and developers were specialists in machine intelligence and deep learning. Prior to this, she was CTO of sports brand and sponsorship tracking and analysis firm SnapRapid. She is a Molecular Biochemistry graduate from Oxford University, with a doctorate in Computational Neuroscience from Sussex.

Alex Vaidya, CEO and co-founder of StoryStream, comments: 'Marketers are increasingly thinking about how AI can be leveraged to improve operations and boost revenue. We wanted to make that an accessible reality for marketers. It was important for us to have talent in-house to design unique, specialist technology that can keep up with the demands of our clients. Original AI technology will become a game changer for the business'.

Web site: www.story-stream.com .