If we get time, we tend to just fill it with more thoughts. What we need is more space.
Sarah Wilson
We’re taking more photos than ever before, but looking at them less and less
Our life stories are captured in our camera rolls, but they’re increasingly mixed up with photos of receipts, screenshots of reservations, and reminders of where we parked the car. There’s never been a platform dedicated to your most cherished memories, until now...
45%
of the population say they feel overwhelmed by the number of photos on their phone
1 in 2
people say they feel social pressure to capture a record of their life through photos
60%
say they are scared of losing the photos on their phone despite the prevalence of cloud backup
*Popsa and Savanta. Poll of 4,000 adults in US, UK, France and Germany, June 2023
A personal message from our CEO
As a teenager, I taught myself how to design and code from my bedroom. It felt like gaining superpowers—skills that allowed me to express emotions and share stories in engaging ways.
I pursued a degree in architecture, in which I learnt how to influence the moods of people I would never meet through thoughtful design. Good products, much like good architecture, are not just functional but also pleasurable and thought-provoking. They engage the senses and inspire people to see the world through a different lens.
Popsa harnesses technology to give everyday people their own creative superpowers.
For the first time, anyone can create beautiful artefacts from their memories—tangible objects imbued with meaning. Our products act as social lubricants, creating new conversations, bringing back forgotten moments, sparking joy and sometimes tears.
For far too long, creating such keepsakes meant using complicated software or being overwhelmed with thousands of options. While people like me could learn these tools, so many others felt ill-equipped. Services that were supposed to spark joy became barriers instead.
Popsa exists to serve people who lack confidence with technology, feel embarrassed about their creative abilities, or simply don’t have the time to learn software.
My ambition is to completely democratise this process, because everyone deserves to reconnect with their memories, regardless of their technical skills or design expertise.
I didn’t start Popsa to sell products; I set out to create a service that bestowed others with creative abilities, so they could make things of their memories not just with pride, but with confidence too.
Liam Houghton
Co-founder
Reached 1.5 million paying customers
Launched facial recognition technology to help people rediscover photos of friends and family
Introduced our Reminders service for special occasions
Released Foil Upgrades and Magic Links
Ranked as the 16th fastest e-commerce company in Europe by The Financial Times
Launched the first version of Popsa’s social graph – ”The Popsa Experience Graph”
Introduced AI Generative Captions and Dynamic Themes
Released Popsa for Web
Confirmed as one of the Top 20 fastest growing companies in Europe by the FT
Ranked in the Top 50 fastest-growing UK tech companies by Deloitte for the third year running
Introduced AI-generated Smart Albums
Surpassed $100m in all-time revenue
Secured $12 million Series-A investment led by Gresham House Ventures
Expanded to Canada, New Zealand, and Australia
Added Photo Boxes to the product range
Launched interactive 3D models
Introduced sharing features
Ranked as the UK's fastest-growing software company by Deloitte
Added Photo Calendars and Photo Tiles to the product range
Agreed our first charity partnership
Launched Klarna payments
Named in The Sunday Times' Top 10 companies to watch in the years ahead
Launched in the United States
Added captions, baskets, and tracked shipping features
Ran our first TV marketing campaign
Secured seed investment from Pembroke VCT, Octopus, and Guinness Global Investments
Launched Popsa for Android
Added Photo Ornaments to the product range
Launched PayPal payments
Received pre-seed investment from 500 Global and The Garage Soho
Launched our first-generation AI layout algorithms
Localised all products and comms into 12 European languages
Added Prints to the product range
Founded by Liam Houghton and Tom Cohen in a kitchen in Soho, London
Launched Popsa for iOS
Introduced Photobooks
Milestones and Metrics
We were building AI before it was cool, and millions of customers have already benefited.
1.8m
Paying Customers
Unique users who have placed an order with Popsa
92%
Customer Satisfaction
Average CSAT score for the past 12 months across all markets
8.2m
Designs Generated by AI
Product layouts we have generated automatically for our users
350m
Photos Printed
The total number of photos printed in our products
450bn
Photos Analysed
Photos we have analysed on device to make suggestions for users
22%
Conversion Rate
The proportion of users installing our app who go on to purchase
100%
CO₂ Emissions Offset
Proportion of emissions offset from making and shipping our products
4.8
App Store Rating
Based on more than 100,000 reviews on iOS
Uncompromising Craftsmanship
In a world that wants to flatten our experiences, we give life extra dimension.
Attention to detail runs through our veins. Every product is bespoke; made to order at one of 10 production centres across the globe.
“Put light against light, you have nothing. Put darkness against darkness, you have nothing. It is the contrast of light and dark that each give the other one meaning. ”
Bob Ross
Our Philosophy
Embrace Everything
Our photos tell the story of our lives. They hold so much value: feeling, meaning, your sense of who you are. But culture (and all those other brands) leads you to reflect on just the happy days and cliché moments in a one-dimensional way.
Nowhere gives you the space, or permission, to explore beyond the shiny social media surface. Until now.
At Popsa, we believe we build our sense of self by processing the light, dark and shades in between.
Because real life is found in registry offices, hospital wards and traffic jams. And our mental health can benefit from reflecting on the big steps, missteps, baby steps—and stillness.
The more we thread it all together and make sense of what we feel, the better we understand ourselves and value our connections with others. The readier we all are to embrace life’s glorious, messy, hard, hopeful, bittersweet stride.
“There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. ”
Leonard Cohen
Our Supporters
Popsa’s success has been made possible by the unwavering support of our investors.
These forward-thinking organisations believe in our mission to transform how people interact with their photos. With their support, we’ve been able to develop cutting-edge technology and expand our reach across the globe.
Our Vision
We seek to be the space where you reflect, understand, and celebrate the moments that define you.
We envision a future where we not only help you create beautiful photo books but help you shape your identity in other ways too. We are committed to expanding beyond traditional photo printing, using the same technology to enhance your creativity and make intelligent suggestions across a variety of media. We believe in the transformative power of memories. So our commitment to you is that the central goal of our platform will always always be to promote ease and accessibility. Giving you superpowers to achieve professional results. No skills required.
All stories have a beginning, a middle and an ending, and if they’re any good, the ending is a new beginning.
James Clavell
Let’s Make Memories Together
Join us as we build the memory curation platform of tomorrow.
Whether it’s through creating your next photo book, exploring career opportunities, or simply following our journey. Every experience can be a launchpad for personal growth.
