CamFind raises $5M and launches its image-recognition API for any developer to use

Image-recognition technology startup CamFind has announced a $4.8 million funding round as it launches a new public API called CloudSight.

We last covered CamFind back in September, just as the Los Angeles-based company introduced a version of its software for Google Glass that enabled a Glass user to look at an unfamiliar “thing” — be it an object, animal, or landmark — and know instantly what it is, thanks to CamFind’s visual search engine. This was in addition to its existing standalone mobile apps for Android and iOS.

It is actually pretty smart technology, as it not only tells you that the hairy, four-legged beast in front of you is a dog, but it will tell you what species of canine it is. CamFind will also soon incorporate face-recognition technology similar to Google Goggles, which will be a particularly interesting addition.

CamFind already made its API available to more than 750 companies, including marketing firms and developers. With a public API now in tow, however, CamFind wants to open its technology to any and all third-party developers and companies. So smart-glasses makers or game developers can include some pretty neat functionality in their own products, without having to develop it from scratch.

“We wanted to literally and figuratively give developers the gift of ‘sight,’ meaning we would provide the visual search technology,” explained CamFind cofounder and CEO Dominik Mazur. “We also want developers to use their imaginations to create new and exciting possibilities for devices.”

The $4.8 million in funding has come from “dozens of individual angel investors,” including Kamran Pourzanjani, who sold PriceGrabber to Experian for $485 million way back in 2005. Pourzanjani will also join CamFind as an advisor. Other notable investors include David Perry, who sold video-game streaming company Gaikai to Sony for $380 million in 2012.