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<br /> By now, much has already been said, and written, and experienced, about the two apps that have been making the headlines in the last couple of months (i.e. ever since they released) : Pokémon GO and <keyword id="3484573" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Prisma">Prisma</keyword>.<br />
<br /> To state the obvious, <keyword id="3047629" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pokemon-Go">Pokemon GO</keyword> and Prisma are the latest Blockbusters, a highly exclusive and hallowed set of products, brands and trends that define or change user behavior and consumption, and do so really fast.<br />
<br />
Apart from the more common usage of the term in movies and music, the pharmaceutical industry reveres its <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.investopedia.com%2Fterms%2Fb%2Fblockbuster-drug.asp">blockbusters</a> (A blockbuster drug is one that generates more than $1 Billion in annual sales) and so does the gaming industry (Think of Angry Birds, Candy Crush &amp; Temple Run before Pokemon GO ever happened). Harry Potter, iPhone, Tesla are also examples of the fact that Blockbusters take many forms.<br />
While our own affinity towards our favourite (or most recent) Blockbuster may make us feel otherwise, the truth is that in most cases it is near impossible to spot a Blockbuster a priori.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/211739619954966718/"><em>Image source</em></a><br />
<br />
(Should you disagree, I would love to read your thesis on how you would have predicted, before its release, that <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2014%2F12%2F03%2Fpsy-broke-youtube-gangnam-style%2F">Gangnam Style would become the most viewed video on YouTube</a>)<br />
<br />
With that said, an exercise in pattern recognition is an enticing proposition for most VCs, and in this post, I look at 3 ( or is it 4?) features that<br />
seem to set Blockbusters apart.<br />
<br />
<strong>Aspirational</strong><br />
Soon after Viagra’s launch, TIME magazine ran a story on the pill titled ‘<a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.time.com%2Ftime%2Fmagazine%2Farticle%2F0%2C9171%2C139084%2C00.html">The Viagra Craze</a>’ in which Bob Guccione, publisher of Penthouse magazine, prophesied that the drug will :<br />
<br />
“…free the American male libido from the emasculating doings of feminists. ….and the ability to have sex by older men will make them<br />
healthier and live longer. It will fool the biological clock when men are still active in the later years. It is a very significant effect of the drug that many haven’t contemplated.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601980504,00.html"><em>Image source</em></a><br />
<br />
Coming from the Publisher of the Penthouse Magazine, the dream of everlasting youth and good times is an aspiration too potent for a lot of men to resist.<br />
<br />
Viagra’s annual sales peaked at <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drugdangers.com%2Fviagra%2F">$2 Billion </a>while Pfizer (The makers of the drug) predicted that the best case would be <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fpredicting-new-drug-sales-2014-4%3FIR%3DT">$500 Million</a>.<br />
Blockbusters are able to trigger aspiration to powerful and unpredictable effect.<br />
<br />
Other examples of aspiration driving a Blockbuster’s adoption and growth , include :<br />
<br />
• The “Gangnam Style” video was a parody of <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmusic%2Fshortcuts%2F2012%2Foct%2F25%2Fgangnam-style-seouls-most-exclusive-neighbourhood">Gangnam, Seoul’s most expensive and most exclusive neighbourhood</a><br />
<br />
• People have always to get their portraits done. A desire served well, both by selfies and the Prisma app (More on this later in this post)<br />
<br />
• In the beginning of the 20th century, cars were nothing more than a rich man’s horse, until the <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fpulse%2Ftoo-expensive-game-changer-shubhankar-bhattacharya%3Ftrk%3Dmp-reader-card">Ford Model T came along in 1908 </a>with Henry<br />
Ford boldly calling out its mission as “ “This car will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one.”<br />
<br />
• And what would explain the Pokémon GO hysteria ? The prestige that comes with <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.complex.com%2Fpop-culture%2F2016%2F07%2Fpokemon-go-player-complete-pokedex">catching them all</a>, and the fear that the Pokémon “<a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fplay.google.com%2Fstore%2Fapps%2Fdetails%3Fid%3Dcom.nianticlabs.pokemongo%26hl%3Den">might get away!</a>”.<br />
<br />
<strong>Scarce and Imitable</strong><br />
<br />
After its triumphant launch for Apple users, there was much excitement for Prisma’s launch on the Android Play store.<br />
<br />
Within just a matter of days though, it was found that over <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scmagazine.com%2F15m-downloaded-fake-app-prisma-from-google-play%2Farticle%2F513750%2F">1.5 Million users had downloaded fake versions of the Prisma app</a>, much the same way that <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2016%2F07%2F18%2Fbeware-the-fake-pokemon-go-apps%2F">large numbers of users had downloaded fake Pokémon GO apps</a>.<br />
<br /> If you have searched for <keyword id="3582526" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="blockbuster-games">blockbuster games</keyword> such as Candy Crush Saga or Temple Run, you would know that many imitation versions of the games exist, to the extent that Candy Crush and Temple Run have almost becomes genres, not standalone games.<br />
<br />
Outside the world of apps, the proliferation of “fake iPhone” manufacturers in China has now become a well-known and well-accepted fact, <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-apple-china-idUSKCN0RN2EF20150924">one that many believe has in fact helped build Apple’s brand awareness in China</a>.<br />
<br />
Imitation, of course, can take many more forms, as <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDuck_face">Duck face selfies</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.teenvogue.com%2Fstory%2Fnew-selfie-face-fish-gape">Fish gape selfies</a> constantly remind us.<br />
<br />
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.<br />
<br />
Might this be corroborated by the observation that scarcity tends to heighten the demand of a Blockbuster ? And is it possible that imitations of a Blockbuster actually do it more good than harm, by extending its access ?<br />
<br />
So much for <a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPorter%2527s_five_forces_analysis">Porter’s five forces</a> and what it taught us about barriers to replication being a good thing.<br />
<br />
<strong>Technological Relevance</strong><br />
<br />
Duck face sefies got me doing some research on the origins of the modern selfie.<br />
<br />
From 2006 to 2009 (back when MySpace existed), the term ‘<a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Ftech%2Felements%2Fthe-return-of-the-selfie">MySpace </a><a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Ftech%2Felements%2Fthe-return-of-the-selfie">pic</a>’ described an amateurish, flash-blinded self-portrait, often taken in front of a bathroom mirror. Self-portraits shot with cell phones, or “selfies” — cheap-looking, evoking the MySpace era — became a sign of bad taste.<br />
<br />
Facebook, on the other hand emphasized photos that were presented in crisp focus. Owing to cameras’ technological limitations, a well-focussed photograph was typically taken from at least three feet away, by another person.<br />
<br />
The subject of the MySpace bathroom selfie — with its tableaux of bathroom counter, mirror, face, and upper body — always looked alone. Selfies were for people without friends; the savvy moved on to the more advanced network — Facebook.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><a href="https://medium.com/r/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chethstudios.net%2F2010%2F04%2F40-hilarious-facebook-comic-strips.html">Image source</a></em><br />
<br />
Facebook conquered MySpace because it distanced itself from the Selfie.<br />
<br />
Yeah, that happened.<br />
<br />
Selfies came back with a bang when the iPhone4 became the first iPhone to introduce a front-facing camera, a feature that is now a staple of every smartphone.<br />
<br />
Selfies, and therefore Instagram, Snapchat, and now Prisma could not have become Blockbusters before the front-facing camera became ubiquitous.<br />
<br />
What if cellphones with front-facing cameras had been mass produced while MySpace was still alive ?<br />
<br />
What if…<br />
<br />
<em><a href="http://i.imgur.com/Od0OkrG.jpg">Cover Image Source</a><br />
<br />
About the author: Shubhankar Bhattacharya is a Venture Partner at Kae Capital, an early stage VC fund. He can be reached via his <a href="https://in.linkedin.com/in/shubhankar-bhattacharya-a1063a3">LinkedIN profile</a>. </em><br />

The blueprint of a blockbuster

<p>Android users can now download Prisma, the popular app that's using artificial intelligence to turn your boring photos into works of art.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Tech Insider/Danielle Muoio</span></p><p class="caption">The dogs, Daphne and Apollo, had their tug-of-war turned into art using Prisma.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Similar to VSCO, you simply upload a photo to the Prisma app and choose a filter that works best. Except rather than applying subtle changes to the photo, the app turns that photo into art, drawing inspiration from works like "Go for Baroque" by Roy Lichtenstein.</p><p>Here's how the Prisma app works and how to use it yourself:</p>

The popular Prisma app is now on Android - here's how it works

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Drew Angerer</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Pok<span>é</span>mon Go and Super Mario Go, Nintendo's first experiments with bringing its characters to Apple devices, both ended up in the top 10 iOS apps downloaded worldwide in 2016, Apple announced on Thursday.</p><p>Pokémon Go, which Apple calls a "cultural phenomenon," was the most downloaded iOS app, Apple <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2017/01/05App-Store-Shatters-Records-on-New-Years-Day.html">said in a press release</a>. But Mario is also popular, and Super Mario Go was the most downloaded app on Christmas and New Year's Day. </p><p>Apple's developers were able to rake in $20 billion in 2016, which was up 40% from last year, Apple also announced. Given that Apple takes a roughly 30% cut of what developers sell, this implies that the App Store grossed somewhere around $28 billion last year. </p><p>This year, Apple started to take a smaller cut of App Store revenue if developers offer a subscription option. Apple said its subscription business grossed $2.7 billion. Apple also said that its new App Store search ads are effective with a 50% conversion rate. </p><p>Apple suggests that 2017 will be a bigger year for its App Store business, which it sees as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-wants-to-be-a-services-company-2016-1">a critical way</a> to keep revenue and margin up in the face of declining iPhone sales. January 1st was a record-setting day, according to Apple, with $240 million in App Store purchases. </p><h2>Read Apple's entire press release below: </h2><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>Record-Breaking Holiday Season for the App Store</strong></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>Apple today announced that the App Store welcomed 2017 with its busiest single day ever on New Year's Day, capping a record-breaking holiday season and a year of unprecedented developer earnings and breakout app hits. In 2016 alone, developers earned over $20 billion, up over 40 percent from 2015. Since the App Store launched in 2008, developers have earned over $60 billion, creating amazing app experiences for App Store customers across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Mac. Those efforts helped kick off 2017 with a remarkable start, making New Year's Day the highest single day ever for the App Store with nearly $240 million in purchases. </span><br /><br /><span>"2016 was a record-shattering year for the App Store, generating $20 billion for developers, and 2017 is off to a great start with Jan. 1 as the single biggest day ever on the App Store," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "We want to thank our entire developer community for the many innovative apps they have created - which together with our products - help to truly enrich people's lives."</span><br /><br /><span>Customers broke all-time records this holiday season with purchases from the App Store topping $3 billion in December. In the same month, Nintendo's Super Mario Run made history with more than 40 million downloads in just four days after its release, and was the most downloaded app globally on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. </span><br /><br /><span>Super Mario Run is also among last year's top 10 most downloaded apps worldwide, with Pokémon Go taking the top spot. Pokémon Go, a beloved game from Niantic, quickly became a cultural phenomenon in mid-2016. Prisma, Reigns, Procreate, Lumino City, Sweat With Kayla and djay Pro, from some of Apple's independent developers, were among the most successful apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch and Mac, respectively. The App Store offers 2.2 million apps in total, up over 20 percent from last year. </span><br /><br /><span>With the App Store available in 155 countries, Apple's customers have access to millions of apps to make their lives easier, enrich their passions and connect with people from all around the world. The App Store's top-grossing markets include the US, China, Japan and the UK, with China experiencing record year-over-year growth at an incredible 90 percent. The global impact of the App Store was captured this past year with two campaigns - Apps for Earth and Games for (RED). In partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and (RED), customers were empowered to make a difference, helping to protect life on our planet and join the fight against AIDS. The custom content created by each campaign's participating developers helped raise over $17 million in total for the two organizations. </span><br /><br /><span>With the introduction of iMessage® apps and SiriKit in iOS 10, developers created exciting new types of app experiences. iPhone and iPad customers now have access to over 21,000 iMessage apps to send stickers and easily collaborate with friends, and for the first time ever, users can ask Siri® to book rides, make payments, return a call and more.</span><br /><br /><span>Since subscriptions became available across all 25 app categories this fall, including Games and Kids, customers can subscribe to their favorite services from over 20,000 apps, with Netflix, HBO Now, Line, Tinder and </span><a href="http://mlb.com/" onclick="s_objectID=" http:="" mlb.com="" _1return="" this.s_octhis.s_oce:true="">MLB.com</a><span> At Bat among last year's most popular. iPhone and iPad customers grew the App Store's subscription billings significantly in 2016, to $2.7 billion, up 74 percent from 2015. </span><br /><br /><span>Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple's four software platforms - iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS - provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple's more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.</span></p>

Pokemon Go was the most downloaded iPhone app worldwide in 2016, Apple says

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Apple's photo app is one of the most underrated visual editors of all time.</p><p>As a semi-professional photographer and all my friend groups' resident documentarian, I've tried my fair share of apps, from VSCO and Prisma to the lesser known TinType and Afterlight. Few have been as easy to use and comprehensive as the<a href="http://www.apple.com/ios/photos/"> iOS Photos app</a>.</p><p>Here are some of my favorite tricks.</p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/25-big-tech-predictions-for-2016?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_content=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_campaign=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions"></a><strong> EXCLUSIVE FREE REPORT:</strong><br />25 Big Tech Predictions by BI Intelligence. <strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/25-big-tech-predictions-for-2016?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_content=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_campaign=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions">Get the Report Now »</a></strong></div></p>

These simple tricks will make your iPhone photos better without downloading any apps

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Lensa is facing criticism since the AI app exploded in popularity at the end of 2022. </li><li>The app faces claims of sexualizing and racializing avatars and collecting personal data. </li></ul><p>Open any social-media platform and you'll be bombarded with images of friends and internet acquaintances transformed into artsy digital avatars. </p><p>The Lensa app is behind those avatars. <a href="https://prisma-ai.com/lensa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prisma Labs developed it</a> in 2018 as a photo-editing tool, and its "Magic Avatar" feature debuted in late November 2022. It then skyrocketed, counting nearly 6 million downloads in December, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1350961/lensa-ai-app-downloads-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Statista</a>. </p><p>The fad even spurred new AI filters on TikTok and led to <a href="https://techthelead.com/as-lensa-ai-reaches-almost-13-million-installs-app-store-now-full-of-copycats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">copycat apps</a>. I tried Lensa in December and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lensa-app-review-turn-selfies-digital-art-ai-technology-photos-2022-12">wrote about it</a> as the app exploded. At the time, it seemed like just a fun app.</p><p>But since then, consumers have voiced concerns from intellectual property to hyper-sexualization. </p><h2>Claims of sexualization and racialization </h2><p>Though Lensa's rules note "no nudes" and "no kids, adults only," over the past few weeks, users have taken to social media to note that several of their avatars seemingly had "<a href="https://twitter.com/lexinlindsey/status/1601039762558955520" target="_blank" rel="noopener">huge boobs</a>" and that the app would "<a href="https://twitter.com/mjimenz33/status/1600274281887600640" target="_blank" rel="noopener">give you a boob job</a>."</p><p>Melissa Heikkilä, a reporter for MIT Technology Review, wrote in an <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/12/12/1064751/the-viral-ai-avatar-app-lensa-undressed-me-without-my-consent/?utm_campaign=site_visitor.unpaid.engagement&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=tr_social">article in December</a> that 16 of the 100 avatars she received were topless, while an additional 14 put her in "extremely skimpy clothes and overtly sexualized poses."</p><p>She's not alone. In a survey Within Health, a digital service that assists with mental health and eating disorders, conducted in December, 80% of respondents said they felt Lensa sexualized their images.</p><p>According to Heikkilä, part of the issue is Lensa's use of Stable Diffusion, an open-source AI model built from data the program pulls from images on the internet — a source of chronically crude and problematic photos — that appear to be informing the app's results. </p><p>Others on social media said their <a href="https://twitter.com/SundasZahra/status/1601303267194990592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">images were</a> "<a href="https://twitter.com/SundasZahra/status/1601303267194990592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whitewashed</a>:" their skin appeared lighter than it did in submitted photos. </p><p>In a <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/lensa-artificial-intelligence-csem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report for Wired</a>, Olivia Snow said that as an experiment, she uploaded photos of herself as a child, and the results transformed her face into "seductive looks and poses" and in one set, "a bare back, tousled hair, an avatar with my childlike face holding a leaf between her naked adult's breasts." </p><p>Prisma Labs and Lensa did not respond to Insider's request to comment prior to publication. However, Lensa states in its privacy policy — <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/viral-lensa-ai-art-app-revamps-privacy-policy-amid-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">updated on December 15</a>, <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/viral-lensa-ai-art-app-revamps-privacy-policy-amid-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 in response to earlier backlash</a> — the company acknowledges the possibility of receiving "inappropriate" content. </p><p>"We do our best to moderate the parameters of the Stable Diffusion model, however, it is still possible that you may encounter content that you may see as inappropriate for you," <a href="https://lensa-ai.com/privacy#:~:text=Lensa%20uses%20a%20Neural%20Network,photos%20and%20select%20their%20gender.&amp;text=We%20do%20not%20use%20your,our%20separate%20artificial%20intelligence%2Fproducts." target="_blank" rel="noopener">the policy states</a>. </p><div type="image" title="Screenshots depicting the Lensa process." height="1200" width="1800" msid="97031442" hostid="261" sizebytes="122684"></div><h2>Allegations of stealing from artists </h2><p>Just as quickly as Lensa avatars became ubiquitous online, allegations of theft and warnings from artists also emerged.</p><p>"If you've recently been playing around with the Lensa App to make AI art 'magic avatars' please know that these images are created with stolen art through the Stable Diffusion model," Megan Rae Schroeder, an artist, wrote in a <a href="https://twitter.com/megraeart/status/1598806459004985363" target="_blank" rel="noopener">viral Twitter thread</a>. </p><p>Schroeder further claimed Lensa is using a "legal loophole to squeeze out artists from the process" by operating its technology through "nonprofit means" that dodge licensing fees. </p><p>Eliana Torres, an intellectual-property attorney for Nixon Peabody, confirmed that the legality around Lensa is murky because US copyright law "treats AI as a tool or a machine, rather than as an author or a creator." </p><p>"However, the question of authorship and ownership of works created by AI is still an open question and is the subject of ongoing legal and policy debates," Torres said.</p><p>The law community "would welcome additional guidance from policymakers and courts when it comes to protecting consumers in connection with AI," Torres said. </p><p>Meanwhile, other artists like the painter Agnieszka Pilat, are less concerned about its long-term impact — she anticipates Lensa will fall as quickly as it rose.</p><p>"The flood of Lensa avatars feel cheap and overwhelming," Pilat said in a statement shared with Insider. "The public's juvenile self-absorption, the ultimate Narcissus moment, the me society, that's what is at play here." </p><h2>Concern over data collection and privacy</h2><p>Similar to issues surrounding the 2020 launch of FaceApp, a Russian program that also uses AI technology, some users are wary about how their biometric data and likenesses may be used. </p><p>Lensa claimed in its updated policy that it does "not use your personal data to generally train and/or create our separate artificial intelligence/products." </p><p>"Please note that we always delete all metadata that may be associated with your photos and (or) videos by default (including, for example, geotags) before temporarily storing them to our systems," the policy says.</p><p>Still, experts said to use caution when using apps like Lensa. </p><p>"We always have to be aware when our biometric data is being used for any purpose," David Leslie, a director of ethics at The Alan Turing Institute and a professor at Queen Mary University <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/lensa-ai-magic-avatars-security-tips/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Wired</a>. "This is sensitive data. We should be extra cautious with how that data is being used."</p>

Sex, art theft, and privacy: Lensa exploded overnight — and now the avatar app is dealing with public backlash. Here's what you should know.

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>If you've checked Instagram or Facebook&#xa0;at all in the last month, chances are you've seen at least one&#xa0;selfie that looks like it was painted by Vincent van Gogh or Pablo Picasso.<p>That's because of a free app called Prisma.</p><p>Thanks to its bold, impressionistic filters, Prisma has quickly become&#xa0;the hottest photography app of the summer. The Russian startup behind the app, <a href="http://prisma-ai.com/">Prisma Labs</a>, says that it has&#xa0;seen 42 million&#xa0;downloads&#xa0;since June 11 and 'prismed' 1.2 billion photos.</p><p>What people who've used Prisma probably don't&#xa0;not realize is that the app is actually an experiment in artificial intelligence. When you add a filter to a photo in Prisma, you're training a system of neural networks that analyze your photo and recreate it to look like a work of art. All of this happens in a matter of seconds.</p><p>During a recent interview with Business Insider, Prisma Labs CEO&#xa0;Alexey Moiseenkov said<span>&#xa0;he plans&#xa0;to use the same technology</span><span>&#xa0;to edit much more than just photos.</span></p><p>"The vision is to help people share more on the internet with the help of AI," he&#xa0;said.</p><h2>From Russia with love</h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Moiseenkov, a 25-year-old graduate of Russia's&#xa0;Polytechnic University, leads a team of nine people</span>&#xa0;at Prisma Labs in Moscow.</p><p>He got the&#xa0;idea for Prisma&#xa0;after stumbling on&#xa0;an open-source AI system&#xa0;called <a href="https://deepart.io/">DeepArt</a> last year. German PhD students had built&#xa0;an algorithm that could <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ai-makes-photos-look-like-famous-paintings-2015-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">redraw&#xa0;an image based on a the style and brush strokes of a famous painting</a>.</p><p><span>Moiseenkov thought the same AI system behind DeepArt could be made into a mobile&#xa0;filter app</span>, but there was only one problem: The algorithm&#xa0;was too slow at redrawing photos. He knew the app&#xa0;had&#xa0;to be as fast as using Instagram's filters.</p><p>After a few months of work, he said&#xa0;his team was able to make DeepArt's AI "1,000 times faster."</p><p>Once Prisma was <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1122649984">released in the App Store</a> on June 11, the app quickly rose&#xa0;up the charts in the photo and video category. It eventually cracked the App Store's top 10 overall downloads in mid July before <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neuralprisma">arriving in the Google Play Store</a> on July 24.</p><p>What's impressive about Prisma's early success&#xa0;is that its popularity&#xa0;is based entirely on word of mouth.&#xa0;The app is&#xa0;most popular in Russia, India, and the U.S., according to research firm App Annie.</p><p>"We did nothing at all,"&#xa0;<span>Moiseenkov said.</span>&#xa0;"It's totally organic growth."</p><p><span>The app's subtle "Prisma" watermark on photos (which can be removed in the app's settings) helped it gain traction early on. Several celebrities, including Russian Prime Minister&#xa0;Dmitry Medvedev and "Guardians of the Galaxy" writer James Gunn,&#xa0;helped spread the word on Instagram.</span></p><p><span><div>    </div></span></p><p><span><span><div>    </div></span></span></p><p><span><span>Moiseenkov attributes Prisma's virality&#xa0;to the fact that, at the end of the day, people want&#xa0;their photos to look interesting.</span></span></p><p>"Everybody in the world wants to create something a little bit better than average," he said. "And these filters and styles help people to improve their photos. It's deeply connected with my vision."</p><h2>Monetization and the Facebook question</h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>Prisma isn't the first eastern European filter app to go viral. Its story is similar to that of&#xa0;MSQRD, a Belarus startup that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/msqrd-acquisition-story-2016-3">Facebook bought for its Snapchat-like face masks earlier this year</a>. Prior to that, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-buys-looksery-2015-9">Snapchat scooped up Ukrainian startup Looksery</a> to power its own selfie filters in 2015.</p><p><span>Moiseenkov's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/darkolorin/videos/1167027003361593/">recent visit to Facebook's headquarters</a> in California has led&#xa0;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/19/prismagram/">some to&#xa0;speculate</a>&#xa0;that Prisma will also be acquired by&#xa0;the social networking giant.</span></p><p><span>When reached for comment, a Facebook spokesperson denied the rumor and said the company was not considering an acquisition of Prisma.&#xa0;<span>Moiseenkov declined to comment on his visit beyond that the meeting was "really private."</span></span></p><p><span><span>Aleksej Gubarev, a Prisma investor and CEO of Servers.com, said in an interview that Prisma had been in discussions with several "top" U.S. and Chinese tech companies, but declined to elaborate. He said Prisma was close to completing a round of funding, but wouldn't reveal how much was being raised.</span></span></p><p><span><span>Other current Prisma investors include Russian tech company My.com (where&#xa0;<span>Moiseenkov previously worked as a product manager) and&#xa0;Gagarin Capital, which also invested in MSQRD.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>If Prisma doesn't get acquired,&#xa0;<span>Gubarev said the app&#xa0;could quickly become profitable by selling&#xa0;sponsored filters. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>It recently started&#xa0;experimenting with sponsored filters&#xa0;<a href="http://digiday.com/brands/uber-rival-gett-enjoying-lift-filter-prisma/">from the likes of Gett</a>, an Uber competitor.&#xa0;</span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span>Gubarev, whose company provides the cloud infrastructure for Prisma, said between 10 and 15 companies are in the queue to pay for sponsored filter placement in the app.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span>Moiseenkov said his team at Prisma Labs is</span>&#xa0;mainly focused on building new features, not monetization.</p><p>"For now, I'm really into product," he said. "Not into the business side."</p><h2>What's next</h2><p>Prisma plans to add video support in the next couple of weeks.&#xa0;<span>Moiseenkov said the feature is done, but the team is making sure its servers will be able to handle the update.</span></p><p><span>Beyond video, he said Prisma could one day help enhance photos and videos in other ways. An API is being built to let businesses use the app's filters for professional video production and prints, according to&#xa0;<span>Gubarev.</span></span></p><p><span><span>Here's a teaser of the upcoming video filters in action:</span></span></p><p><span><span><div></div></span></span></p><p><span><span>When asked if he was worried about Prisma's&#xa0;novelty wearing off,&#xa0;<span>Moiseenkov said he sees Prisma as a startup that uses AI to help people,&#xa0;not just a filter app.</span></span></span></p><p>"I think it's only the beginning," he said.</p><p><div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-climbers-snapchat-2016-6">How to Snapchat from over 20,000 feet - as told by the Everest climbers that just did it</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="M0cnl5MzE68yoRV3CnKL49LJ42zOLfZN" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

The CEO of the summer's hottest photography app says trippy filters are 'just the beginning'

<div id="ooyalaplayer" style="width: 800px; height: 450px;"></div><div style="display:none;" id="kalturavideoplaceholder">kalturavideoplaceholder</div><div><div><div class="g-ytsubscribe" data-channelid="UCVLZmDKeT-mV4H3ToYXIFYg" data-layout="full" data-count="hidden"></div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p>Prisma is a new photo app that has already been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/prisma-labs-app-profile-interview-with-ceo-alexey-moiseenkov-2016-8">downloaded over 42 million times</a>. Using artificial intelligence, it takes your photos and recreates them in the style of a painting. Here's how it works.</p><p class="p2"><span class="s3"><strong>Follow TI:</strong>&#xa0;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/techinsider"><span class="s2">On Facebook</span></a></span></p><p class="tagline"></p><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/25-big-tech-predictions-for-2016?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_content=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_campaign=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions"></a><strong> EXCLUSIVE FREE REPORT:</strong><br>25 Big Tech Predictions by BI Intelligence. <strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/25-big-tech-predictions-for-2016?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_content=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_campaign=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions">Get the Report Now »</a></strong></br></div>

Millions of people are obsessed with this app that turns you into a work of art

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Apple has released its year-end list of top apps, games, and other entertainment that's sold on its App Store.</p><p>If you're looking t0 freshen up your iPhone with some fun or useful new apps, Apple's recommendations are a great place to start.  These aren't necessarily the most downloaded or popular apps, but rather, the apps that Apple has judged to be the best representation of mobile software, using all of a smartphone's advanced capabilities.</p><p>Apple named <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prisma-free-photo-editor-art/id1122649984?mt=8">Prisma</a> its App of the year, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/msqrd-live-filters-face-swap/id1065249424?mt=8">MSQRD</a> as the runner-up. It named <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pokemon-go/id1094591345?mt=8">Pokemon Go</a>, the monster-catching sensation, as the App Store's "breakout hit."</p><p>Here is the full list of Apple's 10 best apps of 2016:</p>

The 10 best iPhone apps of 2016, according to Apple

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Greylock</span></p><p class="caption">Greylock Partners' Josh Elman</p></div><p></p></div></div>In Silicon Valley, it's becoming <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-era-of-the-mobile-app-is-over-2016-6">accepted wisdom</a> that all the big opportunities in mobile apps have been claimed.</p><p>Since Facebook, Snapchat, Uber, and Google are so dominant, there isn't much room for a new upstart to claim homescreen space on the millions of iPhones and Android phones out there.</p><p>After all - <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-era-of-the-mobile-app-is-over-2016-6">Facebook maintains 4 of the top 5 spots</a> in terms of total downloads, and the top 1% of publishers on Apple's App Store <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sensor-tower-94-percent-of-app-store-revenue-comes-from-top-1-percent-publishers-2016-5">collect 94% of the revenue</a>. On first glance, it's a winner-take-all situation. </p><p>Greylock Partners' Josh Elman disagrees with the conventional wisdom. He believes the current status of the mobile world is similar to where the web was in 2002 - right before the "web 2.0" boom. </p><p>He <a href="https://news.greylock.com/the-next-great-platform-is-the-one-that-we-already-have-9c33a1236c37#.lzm2bnszd">writes</a>: </p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>"Looking back to 2002-2004, we all felt that the consumer Internet was played out. Nobody was starting consumer companies. Yahoo! and AOL were the dominant portals, Amazon had staked its claim on the e-commerce world, Google was well on its way to search engine dominance, a bunch of ridiculous dot-coms had met their deserving fates, and there didn't seem to be much room for anything else." </span></p><p><span>But then something interesting happened - social got off the ground. During "Web 2.0," he points out, Friendster, LinkedIn, Myspace, YouTube, and Facebook all launched. What first seemed like a gap in innovation was merely a lull before a big boom of new products and experiences for the web.</span></p><p><span>Elman sees a direct comparison with where mobile is now. "It's worth remembering that the global app market could be generating $100 billion in revenue by 2020, according to App Annie," he writes. "So mobile is far from dead."</span></p><p><span>Elman's point is that there are new apps powering "compelling" and innovative experiences, and consumers are actually giving them a try.</span></p><p><span>For example, there have been 13 non-game apps that have risen to the top five slots in Apple's app store this year: <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Greylock Partners</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Some of these apps were brief fads - like meeting <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/down-to-lunch-reaches-no-3-in-the-app-store-2016-4">Down To Lunch</a>, which was powered by text spam. But others, like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/prisma-labs-app-profile-interview-with-ceo-alexey-moiseenkov-2016-8">Prisma</a>, are genuinely innovative and use cutting edge technologies, like "creative" machine learning.</span></p><p><span>"In reality, there are probably hundreds of core needs that aren't being met by mobile today, but which could be. I don't think we need to wait for a new platform to make these kinds of magical new experiences happen," Elman concludes. </span></p><p><span><a href="https://news.greylock.com/the-next-great-platform-is-the-one-that-we-already-have-9c33a1236c37#.lzm2bnszd">Elman's entire argument is worth reading on Medium</a>. </span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-7-details-release-date-rumors-2016-8">The iPhone 7 is hitting stores on September 23 - here's what you're getting</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="h3dHFlNTE63DY6H4YWa4y1Zi102sODoG" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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