Acquisition and Hollywood Sequel for QuMind

London-based market research technology and consultancy firm QuMind has been acquired by Largo.ai, a provider of advanced AI-driven solutions for the film, TV and advertising industries which lists Sylvester Stallone among its backers.

Largo.ai was launched in 2020 as a spin-off from Swiss technical university, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and recently announced the closure of a Series A financing round and the addition of Hollywood legend Stallone as a strategic partner and investor. The firm uses patented technologies to analyse cinematographic patterns and simulate human audience behaviour, creating advanced AI models that assess a project's structural patterns, strengths and weaknesses, and forecast its potential demographic reach, and the size, likely emotional reactions and purchase intent of its audience - all delivered 'within minutes'. It also provides both qual and quant insights into audience preferences within the content.

Largo says its solutions, which involve the creation of digital twins via a patented questionnaire, have been widely adopted within the film, TV and advertising sectors - it works with more than 600 companies including several Hollywood studios and large agencies. All profiles are refreshed annually and 'thousands' of digital twins are available per country across more than twenty global markets.

In addition to giving it a presence in London, the QuMind buy will allow it to combine its Simulated Audience technology with QuMind's deep industry knowledge and expert team, with the aim of 'setting a blueprint for next generation product development through a seamless, fully automated ecosystem.' QuMind was founded in 1999 as Tpoll by CEO Mark Ursell, changed its name twice, and has continually developed its res tech platform which integrates data-driven insights, advanced research tools and consumer panels. With the deal, QuMind's team ill continue in their current roles, maintaining service for all existing clients, and the integration will proceed 'gradually, offering clients the flexibility to conduct tests using real individuals, or digital twin, audiences.'

Largo.ai's CEO and co-founder Sami Arpa comments: 'As an early pioneer in AI-powered analytics, QuMind is perfectly aligned with our mission to enhance, not replace, human creativity and expertise. AI is a powerful tool to augment decision-making, accelerate innovation, and unlock deeper audience understanding. By combining Largo.ai's cutting-edge technology with QuMinds deep industry knowledge, we're not just moving faster, we're thinking smarter and connecting more meaningfully with consumers.'

Ursell says his firm is 'thrilled' with the combination, stating: 'To date, the increased use of synthetic data has raised serious issues of data provenance and the quality of data - something that the marketing insights industry has yet to fully solve. The Largo approach of using a patented 'walled garden' data set, generated via a questionnaire, solves these challenges head-on...and we're excited to bring it to market.'

Largo.ai is headquartered at the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne, with a presence in LA and now in London. Web sites: www.largo.ai and www.qumind.co.uk .


pictured L to R: Mark Ursell, QuMind; Sami Arpa, Largo.ai; Celine Udroit, Largo.ai