The PhotoILike initiative was created in 2021 to launch a revolutionary technology, based on artificial intelligence systems developed at the University of A Coruña, capable of predicting the commercial impact of the images in an advertisement. For example, to determine which of them will achieve a better conversion within the framework of an advertising campaign (generation of contacts, calls, emails, views, etc.).

Based on this unique technology, which is useful in various fields, its promoters decided to specialise in the property sector, as their proposal had the capacity to provide great value and impact on results. "In proof-of-concepts for our clients, we have increased leads and calls by more than 20% just by ordering the photos on their property listings. We also automate jobs that used to be done manually, doing in 4 seconds what used to take a human over 20 minutes", explains Manuel Pérez, co-founder and CEO of the initiative.

Indestia, the company behind PhotoILike, was created by the Information and Communication Technologies Research Centre of the University of A Coruña (Citic), thanks to the support of the Ignicia Programme, an initiative of the Regional Government of Galicia in collaboration with the Barrié Foundation, whose aim is to transfer the results of research carried out in Galician knowledge centres to the productive fabric and to increase the value of science. According to Manuel Pérez, this support has been crucial: "As a result, we have been able to create our spin-off, hire key staff, develop our first products, access funding and receive expert advice", he explains. "It was absolutely crucial and we recommend Ignicia to other researchers who want to explore the creation of new products based on cutting-edge technology", he continues.

PhotoILike currently employs eight people and has already processed more than 20 million images for its clients, who are leaders in various niches of the Spanish property sector. They are also taking their first steps into foreign markets, such as France and Latin America. "Basically, we are targeting large companies that publish or manage a lot of property advertisements and can do a proof of concept that allows them to validate for themselves the impact of our technology on their advertisements. We are also offering the technology to small estate agents, along with a new automated image enhancement service", he says.

Looking to the future, in the medium term they are looking to expand their product range to offer a full service to estate agents. "We are starting a project to be able to register the aesthetic taste of each person, so that they can access products that match this taste in all kinds of online shops", he goes on to say.