NantMobile

NantMobile, LLC operates as a segment of the broader NantWorks ecosystem, a network of entities founded by surgeon and scientist Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. While some sources state a founding year of 2006 under Orang Dialameh, others indicate its establishment in 2012 by Dr. Soon-Shiong. The company is a key component of NantWorks' "connectivity & communications" pillar, focusing on the convergence of machine vision, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality.

The firm's core offering is a platform that leverages image and object recognition technology to create immersive augmented reality experiences for mobile devices. This technology is designed to allow a consumer's smartphone to browse the physical world, identifying sounds, 3D objects, text, and images in real-time. Upon recognition, the platform unlocks related digital content, enabling users to discover information, act on it, and transact with brands, retail outlets, and media. One of its notable developments, in a joint venture with toy maker Jakks Pacific, was an app that overlaid Disney characters onto specific toys when viewed through an iPad's camera. The technology was engineered to function purely as a mobile application without the need for external cameras or controllers.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a South African-American transplant surgeon, medical researcher, and inventor of the cancer drug Abraxane, founded NantWorks to converge diverse technologies to advance healthcare, clean energy, and communications. His extensive background in medical innovation and pharmaceuticals underpins the data-driven and scientific approach of the NantWorks family of companies. NantMobile's technology, while consumer-facing, shares a technological foundation with other entities in the ecosystem, such as the healthcare IT company NantHealth. The business model appears to be centered on providing this powerful mobile marketing tool to various industries, functioning within the business-to-business software and marketing tech verticals. Over its history, the company has raised significant capital, including a $15 million seed round in 2013 and another $30 million in 2014, to fuel the development of its recognition and augmented reality engine.

Keywords: image recognition, augmented reality, mobile marketing, object recognition, Patrick Soon-Shiong, NantWorks, visual search, marketing tech, AR technology, mobile commerce, interactive media, digital content, consumer engagement, brand interaction, SaaS, mobile platform, computer vision, artificial intelligence, retail tech, real-time recognition