Finnish startup Attractive.ai has raised $1 million for its bot that automatically analyses and reports on the UX of websites and digital products. The seed round was led by Helsinki’s Superhero Capital and joined by investors Tue Lumbye (founder of BetXpert), Jaakko Salminen, Tatsuro Shimada and Keisuke Honda, one of Japan’s top football players.
The Nordic company is on a mission to “rid the world of bad websites”, a potentially lucrative path given the Google algorithm will now favor sites with better UX. The virtual assistant, Poe, simulates a human user and analyses aspects of the online experience, including navigation, engagement, language, layout and accessibility (including, but not limited to all the WCAG technical recommendations). The analysis includes screenshots of problem areas and suggestions of ways to improve the UX. The bot also sends alerts about performance lags and broken user paths.
Since launching at Slush 2019, the software has been available to closed and paying customers only, but the Helsinki-based company just released a free version that offers advice on a monthly basis. Founder and COO Marc Salas Martínez explained: "Our ultimate goal is that 80 percent of the world's web uses Attractive to help their sites. After all, we want the whole world's experience to be better. That meant we had to think of ways that even those with fewer funds could benefit."
As for the connection with Japanese investors, CEO Kristoffer Lawson remarked that Finland and Japan share an appreciation of introspection, technology and minimalistic design. “I believe there is a mental bridge between the countries that has been very underused. Japan also has this fantastic concept of 'omotenashi', or impeccable service, which we feel hasn't been brought to the digital world, and it's about time we do that,” he said.
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