Why?

[Vision]

What you want before you knew you wanted it.
Is it even possible?

Who?

JarnoWojtekJanneKimmoJanLassiMarko
jarno
design
wojtek
algorithms
janne
mathematics
kimmo
apps
jan
dataviz
lassi
architecture
marko
platform

We are a group of humanists and computer scientists… we believe real magic can happen when combining machine learning with human understanding.

How?

[Engine and UX]

The more you use it, the better it gets, for everyone… a simple journey of personal relevancy and playful curiosity. Enjoy.

Info

Talk to us

Spread the word

[Futureful logo (color)]
Futureful logo (color)
[App icon (color)]
App logo (color)
[Futureful logo (bw)]
Futureful logo (bw)
[App icon (bw)]
App logo (bw)
[Futureful logo (alt)]
Futureful logo (alt.)
[Futureful logo (alt)]
Futureful logo (alt.)
[Human-centered (color)]
Human-centered (color)
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[People-powered (color)]
People-powered (color)
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[App Screenshot 1]
App Screenshot (1)
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[App Screenshot 2]
App Screenshot (2)
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[App Screenshot 3]
App Screenshot (3)
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[App Screenshot 4]
App Screenshot (4)
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FAQ

Company

What is Futureful?
The Futureful iPad app is a unique way to surf the web. The ambient flow of related topics provide a never-ending source of content to explore and interact with. A simple and playful experience of personal relevancy and expanding curiosity. And the more you use it, the better it gets, for everyone.
Who is Futureful?
We are a group of humanists and computer scientists who believe real magic can happen when combining machine learning with human understanding. We have been quietly working towards our founding dream of: what you want before you even knew you wanted it. After bootstrapping the early phases of development, and collaborating with leading university research, we joined forces with Janus Friis in early 2012.
What inspired you to start Futureful?
We feel that Futureful chose us. We all had a common passion for creating a new way to experience the web, but none of us really knew one another before joining together. We are a strange mix of characters, skills, experiences and nationalities. We just believe there must be better ways for information to find us.
Where is Futureful?
Helsinki, Finland is where most of us are, most of the time. But various members of team spend significant time in many corners of the world. We are wherever we are needed to be.
How do you work?
Lean, flat & fluid. Research has suggested that near-anarchy is the most innovative and efficient system. Too much structure or too much chaos both lead to disaster. We try to walk that line.
When was Futureful founded?
Futureful has existed as series of prototypes and research projects for the past three years. The company was formally founded and structured in Finland & US at the beginning of 2012.
Why so long in development?
While we recognize the common wisdom around launching early, we believe our path needed to be a bit different because the technology we wanted to build was so experimental and complex. We have been working in close collaboration with a beta community throughout, but didn't publicly launch earlier because we simply wanted to make it better before wasting your time.
How many times did you pivot?
Zero. This is what we do. Our purpose has always remained the same, but we have needed to go through four major rebuilds of our technology and interface. In iteration we trust.
Have you been in stealth?
We have always been here, but we've been very quiet in order to focus all our energy into product development. In many ways, we have gone as far as we can on our own – we really look forward to people breathing life into Futureful.
Who are your investors?
Janus Friis is our sole investor currently. We want to thank him for believing in us. He has been a great mentor on this journey.

Product & Technology

What devices are you available on?
The app is available for the iPad. All versions of the iPad (mini, retina, original, etc).
Where is the app available?
We are only available in the US App Store currently. We intend to spread globally during 2013.
When will you be available on other devices and platforms?
We are 100% focused on mobile – tablets and smartphones are changing the world. We intend to be available on every mobile device. No specific dates yet for other devices or platforms.
Why don't you have a browser-based version available?
We started with browser-based development but ran into limitations in terms of the experience we wanted to provide. We have no plans to revisit a purely browser-based version currently.
Is Futureful a browser?
No. Browsing is an important part of the user experience, and we have customized a complete web browser inside the application, but there is much more to discovery than traditional web browsing.
Is Futureful a search engine?
No. Searching is an important part of the user experience but there is much more to discovery than traditional web searching. Search requires that you know exactly what you want, and you need to type those specific keywords before anything happens – we think information should also find you ambiently.
Is Futureful a personalized newsreader?
No. Futureful can be used for all kinds of digital content, news is just one part of that. Also, the traditional news format of top stories and pre-defined categories just doesn't make sense in a digital world. We want to give people the freedom to fluidly choose their own path of discovery, and at the same time, use machine learning to continue to improve their recommendations over time.
Is Futureful a social network?
No. There are many excellent social networks already available. We prefer to focus on what we are good at and work with existing social services as seamlessly as possible. Social graphs and social data are important elements in helping provide you with relevant information, but it's only one of many signals. People are not defined by their social relationships alone.
How do other users of Futureful affect my experience?
Every user of Futureful has the potential to impact every other user of Futureful. Basically, the system analyzes patterns and trends from others that may be relevant for you. Of course, some people have more in common, so the system is smart and selective about how these dynamics work.
Why do I get different recommendations and results than other users?
Every individual is unique and your recommendations and results should reflect that.
How does Futureful get better for me over time?
Futureful learns from how you use it and adjusts its recommendations and results in real-time. It's complicated, but think of it as a living system that adapts and evolves every time you interact with it.
How good are the results and recommendations Futureful provides?
That's a tough question. We really hope you get immediate enjoyment from using Futureful. Its also worth keeping in mind that it has been designed so that the more everyone uses it, the better the results and recommendations will become. Please be patient and check back from time to time. We are very open to your feedback on what is working and what could be improved.
Does Futureful have an API?
We do not have an API available currently. We definitely want to enable others to build cool things and will be opening an API at some point in the future. Please contact us if you have an idea you would like to discuss.

Big Picture

Is personalization evil?
There has been a lot of debate about the possible impacts of personalization in the various online services we use. Some have claimed a so-called 'personal filter bubble' could be a negative influence that limits the depth and variety of information available. We see this as a false assumption. The fact is, all information discovery tools have in-built biases that are simply the result of various design choices. We are very conscious of these dynamics as we make product design decisions. In addition, we think that by helping to increase the diversity of tools available, it will allow users to choose the right ones to fit their needs depending on what they are trying to do.
What about surprise and serendipity?
We think surprise and serendipity are fundamentally important concepts and have woven them deeply into the fabric of our user experience and algorithms. It's a delicate balance to try and offer people what they want and expect, and still provide nice surprises. We want to help augment your natural curiosity.
But isn't surprise the opposite of relevancy?
We discuss this topic frequently. Some of the most wonderful moments in life are the result of a perfect combination of surprise and relevancy; too much of either can be either boring or bewildering. We truly hope we can spark that magic for you.
How do you view your competition?
We believe we are building something unique, to serve a human need that is just emerging, in a market that does not yet exist. We have our own vision of how to help shape this space. There is room for many flowers to grow.
Sounds idealistic, are you guys hippies?
Nah. It is inevitable that as the amount of digital information continues to explode, it creates a need for new and better ways for us to make sense of it all. We hope to be enjoyable and useful to a lot of people.
Are you planning to license your technology?
We have received a lot of enquiries from various companies about using our technology platform to power a 'predictive personalization' experience on top of their data and content. While flattered, we are currently focused on our own product development. We definitely intend to collaborate widely, it's just a matter of focus currently. Feel free to contact us if you have something interesting you would like to explore.
How do you make money?
We don't, yet. We believe the best path for us to create something meaningful and sustainable is to provide a free service. We are trying to create something useful for a lot of people. Only when we have proven our value to a significant amount of people do we think the business model actually matters.
So are you a non-profit?
Definitely not. The best way to ensure the long-term viability and independence of anything is for it to become financially self-sustaining. If people derive real value from something, we think they should be willing to share some of that value with those that dedicate their energy to keeping it alive and moving forward.
What are your views on intellectual property?
The patent system was created to encourage grass-roots innovation. It's pretty clear that there is room for improvement in how it is supporting this goal. That said, we understand the landscape we operate in and have proactively filed intellectual property to try and protect ourselves as we pursue our creative vision.
What does Futureful want to become?
We want to become your predictive discovery interface to all the information that flows around you. We see Futureful becoming something much bigger than an app. Our deep technology could power a variety of interesting experiences and be an important part of open and large-scale information ecosystems.
I think therefore I am?
Humanity is currently going through an interesting transformation period fueled by the explosion of digital data. New data is providing unprecedented ways for us to reflect on ourselves and the world around us. We are inspired by the opportunity to positively contribute to this future... wherever it may lead :)

“Be the change you want to see in the world”
– Gandhi