Soko, a local discovery app that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and human input to identify the best websites, events, and experiences, launches on Monday, with Lisbon as its starting market, according to the startup.
The project was founded by two Portuguese entrepreneurs, João Albino (formerly of Urbvan) and João Graça (formerly of Unbabel), and aims to promote local events and communities, starting in the Portuguese capital.
This is "more than just a concert calendar: the app aggregates events scattered across the internet and personalises the experience for each user," the technology company explained.
In other words, "events scattered across websites, social networks, WhatsApp groups, or even street posters are aggregated by Soko through an AI tool and the contribution of the community itself, for example, simply sending a photo of a street poster is enough for the platform to create an event."
When asked about the initial target markets, Soko's CEO, João Albino, said that Lisbon is the starting market. "We want to show that it's possible to create a differentiating social platform from here and then export it to the world. And that's really the ambition," he said.
"The technology was designed from the beginning to scale immediately: any user, from Tokyo to New York, can chat with Soko to get city information, submit events, and add places they like," he added.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, "where we have successfully piloted, will be the natural next step in international expansion, along with other markets that we will explore later this year," he said.
Regarding revenue, the CEO says that at this launch phase, there are no targets, "especially since the platform is and will remain free."
The priority "is to prove its usefulness and gain traction with users, communities, and event promoters, who are the ones who bring the city to life. Monetisation will come later and naturally, possibly through 'premium' features for local businesses that want more visibility," João Albino told Lusa.
In June alone, the app has already gathered more than 1,000 events in the city, from popular festivals to exhibitions.
According to the startup, Soko's technology helps to organise, personalise, and scale this knowledge.
"One of the available communication channels is WhatsApp: it's possible to send a message asking what events are available. 'what can I do with my children tomorrow?' or 'Where can I see an exhibition this week?', to receive an immediate response, based on the conversation history," the technology company said.
This is also the story of the company's origin: "The team's first test was through WhatsApp, with a bot that invited people to chat and discover the city, as opposed to the endless scrolling of social networks."
The founders, João Albino and João Graça (CTO), "met around a common conviction: to prove that it is possible to build technology in Portugal to serve a vision with real impact on the lives of people and the cities where they live," they said.
João Albino co-founded Urbvan, "one of the most successful startup stories in Latin America's urban mobility ecosystem," which was acquired by a Nasdaq-listed firm.
João Graça, in turn, co-founded Unbabel, a world leader in AI-assisted translation.
The platform was designed to adapt to different geographies: anyone, in any city, can use it, contribute, and search.
