Objective, formerly known as Kailua Labs, has emerged from stealth mode with $13 million in venture funding. The platform, developed by a team of machine learning experts with backgrounds in Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Twilio, is designed to facilitate multimodal search. Unlike traditional keyword-based search systems, Objective leverages its proprietary technology to provide contextually relevant search results, accommodating natural language queries and combinations of different data types like text, images, video, and audio. As users interact with the platform, it continuously learns and adapts to optimize search results based on user behavior.
The concept of multimodal search has been a long-standing interest in the tech industry, with giants like Google and Microsoft pushing for the development of multimodal large language models to enhance search and discovery experiences. Objective aims to offer an affordable and accessible solution for developers to incorporate multimodal search capabilities into their projects.
Co-founder and CEO Pablo Mendes emphasized the challenges in building such systems, noting that even sophisticated companies are grappling with this task. The Objective team believes that most companies would prefer to adopt a ready-made solution rather than assembling an in-house team to tackle this complex problem. They aspire to level the playing field by providing a user-friendly platform.
Objective was co-founded by three former Apple employees, including Mendes, Joachim Daiber, and Lance Hasson, who previously worked in the AI and machine learning division, focusing on general knowledge queries for Siri.
Objective has secured $13 million in funding through multiple rounds, with support from investors like Matrix Partners, Two Sigma Ventures, and notable angel investors, including Vipul Ved Prakash (Topsy co-founder), Mike Cafarella (Lattice co-founder), and Georg Bauser (former Airbnb director), among others.
The platform has already garnered nearly a dozen launch partners, including Pod Foods (a food distribution company), Dribbble (a digital designer’s platform), and The Information (a major news publication).
Objective Search offers a more efficient alternative to manual tagging and data scrubbing, making semantic search implementation faster and easier for companies. Developers interested in using Objective can schedule a demo, with pricing tailored to factors like company size, data volume, and query volume.
