Narrativ, a media technology company, today announced its recognition as a 2018 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, one of 61 companies awarded worldwide.
Narrativ's SmartLink AI transforms hard-coded links into intelligent, continuously self-repairing nodes - creating an open marketplace for product links while ending the 404. To date, SmartLink AI has restored more than one billion links, impacting more than 200 million internet users every month.
The World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers is a community of early-stage companies from around the world poised to have a significant impact on business and society. Past recipients of the award include Google, AirBnb, Kickstarter, Blockchain, Palantir and Wikipedia.
Narrativ was founded by Shirley Chen, former consultant at McKinsey & Company and Director of Marketing and Business Development at Moda Operandi. Chen has raised capital from investors including New Enterprise Associates and Talis Capital, despite only 1.9% of VC dollars being invested in female-led startups in 2017.
Chen is one of 15 female founders recognized by WEF this year, contributing to the most diverse cohort ever, both geographically and in terms of gender. 25% are female-led, and 52% come from regions outside the United States and Silicon Valley, with each continent represented, except Antarctica.
"We welcome Narrativ in this diverse group of technology pioneers," says Fulvia Montresor, Head of Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum. "Narrativ and its fellow pioneers are front and centre in shaping the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution and we believe they will be transforming society and industry in a positive way in the years to come."
Currently, Alphabet commands half of the US digital ad market while Amazon controls access to 650MM shoppers through content. Narrativ's technology unlocks a new revenue source for publishers by democratizing 100mm consumers, creating a sustainable business model that maintains integrity for the 4th estate.
"Narrativ's mission is to build a strong technology foundation for journalism and commerce. It's our generation's responsibility to build a sustainable and profitable media ecosystem," said Shirley Chen, CEO and Founder of Narrativ. "The foundation of this ecosystem is free-flowing data, accessed by working links. We need to restore links for the benefit of every user of the Internet - publishers, advertisers and consumers alike."
The Technology Pioneers were selected by a selection committee of more than 60 academics, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and corporate executives. The committee based its decisions on criteria including innovation, potential impact and leadership. There is also a wide variety in the technologies the pioneers focus on: the focus technologies include artificial intelligence, big data and internet of things (IoT), biotechnology, blockchain, autonomous vehicles, cyber security, vertical farming and other agricultural advances, decentralised microgrids and robotics.
All info on this year's Technology Pioneers can be found here:http://wef.ch/techpioneers18
More information on past winners can be found here.
About Narrativ: Narrativ is a media technology company building a better internet for journalism and commerce. Our award-winning SmartLink technology is transforming content and democratizing access to a $60Bpipeline. With more than one billion links rewired, Narrativ partners include Ulta Beauty, Dermstore, and New York Magazine.
About World Economic Forum:
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).
