Market research startup Strella has announced the successful completion of a $4 million seed funding round, led by Decibel with participation from Unusual Ventures. Strella aims to leverage artificial intelligence technology to automate and accelerate customer research, providing human insights at ten times the speed and half the cost, fundamentally changing traditional research methods. Image source note: Image generated by AI, image licensed from service provider Midjourney.

Placer.ai, a startup leveraging location data and AI technology for market research, recently completed a $75 million funding round, bringing its valuation close to $1.5 billion. The company provides location-based analytics services for industries such as retail, entertainment, consumer goods, real estate, financial services, and healthcare by integrating anonymous data from third-party applications. The analysis includes traffic trends, purchasing behavior, and demographic information of locations or stores. Despite facing data protection controversies, Placer.ai continues to collaborate with multiple app developers, insisting on 'privacy'...