LTU
LTU Tech is a French software company offering patented, signature-based visual recognition APIs that identify images without deep learning. It serves enterprise and government clients across retail brand monitoring, cultural heritage, defence, industrial quality control, and environmental monitoring.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersPuteaux, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What LTU does
LTU Tech is a French software company specializing in visual recognition and image analysis. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Lille with offices in Paris and Puteaux, the company sells patented signature-based computer-vision technology that generates a unique mathematical 'DNA' for each image by analyzing visual characteristics such as curvature, opacity, 3D structure, texture, and dominant colors. Unlike deep learning-based competitors, LTU's approach requires only a single reference image and no annotated training dataset, delivering average recognition times of approximately 0.3 seconds and lower compute and energy requirements.
The product portfolio comprises Image ID / Visual Search API for object recognition and database organization, Ekselio for industrial quality control via change detection, EarthChange for environmental monitoring from satellite and aerial imagery, LinkMe for mobile visual recognition and AR experiences, the Watchdog brand-monitoring SaaS (co-developed with Webdrone), and the Compute API for image analysis features. All products are exposed via REST APIs with SDKs for iOS, Android, and web, and are deployable as SaaS (OnDemand) or OnPremise.
LTU monetizes through annual subscriptions, per-activation usage-based billing, and multi-year OnPremise licensing contracts. It serves enterprise and government customers across retail/CPG brand protection (Galeries Lafayette, Paco Rabanne, Danone, iDealwine), cultural heritage, defence and security (Italian Carabinieri, French OCBC), industrial quality control, and environmental monitoring. The company raised €4.5M in Series A funding in 2020, holds a French Ministry of Defence partnership granted by ministerial decree in March 2023, and operates with a headcount of 11–50 employees.
LTU firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- LTU
- Legal name
- LTU TECH
- Website
- https://ltutech.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- LTU Tech is a French software company offering patented, signature-based visual recognition APIs that identify images without deep learning. It serves enterprise and government clients across retail brand monitoring, cultural heritage, defence, industrial quality control, and environmental monitoring.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
LTU industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Computer Vision Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Real-Time Vision at the Edge (on-device CV/video) (HDAAAJAE)
Keywords
Where LTU is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Puteaux
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
LTU business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- API / SaaS Subscriptions: LTU provides visual recognition APIs on a SaaS basis, with accounts billed either on a yearly subscription basis (unlimited activations within the subscription period) or per-active-page/activation model. Customers can choose between SaaS (OnDemand) for rapid deployment or OnPremise for data confidentiality requirements.
- Credit-Based / Per-Activation Model: LTU offers account types where customers purchase credits for document page activations. In the 'ActivePages' model, a price is set for the number of active pages at a given time; when deactivating a page, remaining credit increases. In the 'ActivationCumul' model, a price is set per activation and credit is consumed once without reimbursement upon deactivation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Yearly Subscription - Unlimited activations within subscription period |
| Usage-based | Monthly | Per-Activation / Active Pages - Billed by number of active pages |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Cumulative Activation - Billed per activation event |
| Other | Multi-year contract | OnPremise - Local server deployment for data confidentiality |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
LTU product offering
Product offeringCore offering
LTU develops and sells visual recognition software based on a patented unique-signature algorithm that generates a mathematical fingerprint for each image and matches it in approximately 0.3 seconds without deep learning or training data. Its products (Image ID/Visual Search API, EarthChange, Ekselio, LinkMe, Watchdog, Compute API) are delivered via REST APIs, SaaS, or OnPremise licensing to enterprise and government customers in retail, cultural heritage, defense, manufacturing, and environmental monitoring.
Product overview
LTU Tech is a software company specializing in visual recognition and image analysis technology. The product portfolio consists of three core solutions plus supporting products: EarthChange (environmental monitoring from satellite/aerial imagery), Ekselio (quality control via change detection for industrial maintenance), and Image ID/Visual Search API (core image recognition technology). LinkMe provides mobile visual recognition for marketing and cultural experiences, while Watchdog offers automated brand monitoring for e-commerce compliance. All solutions are powered by LTU's proprietary unique signature technology - a patented approach that creates visual fingerprints for images without requiring deep learning, enabling fast (0.3 second) and accurate recognition from a single reference image. The company operates B2B with API and SaaS delivery models, serving sectors including retail, cultural heritage, defense, and environmental monitoring.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- EarthChange: Environmental monitoring and remote sensing platform using image recognition to analyze large-scale environmental change from satellite and aerial images
- Ekselio
- Image ID
- LinkMe
- Watchdog
Products and services
- Image ID (Visual Search API)
Quantifiable outcome
- Average image recognition time of 0.3 seconds
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use LTU
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles7 records
LTU technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
LTU partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Gameloft for brandscoreLTU and Gameloft for brands announced a partnership in May 2020 to create new gamified mobile experiences using image and object recognition. The partnership combines Gameloft's expertise in developing mobile campaigns for prestigious brands with LTU's image recognition API, enabling brands to connect physical objects with digital content through scanning. Applications span e-learning, training, retail, cultural sector, and public sector.
- WebdronecoreLTU co-developed the Watchdog SaaS product-monitoring platform with Webdrone. Watchdog automates image-based product monitoring across online sales territories by combining LTU's image recognition with Webdrone's semantic search and smart crawling technologies (e-drones). This solution checks product listing compliance on e-commerce websites and marketplaces.
- Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale (Italy)coreItalian Carabinieri integrated LTU's signature visual recognition technology into their existing product environment (OnPremise license) to search their own database of stolen artworks and cross-reference newly found artworks. LTU's algorithms recognise artworks instantly with high reliability without deep learning model training. The Carabinieri database contains over 1.3 million objects under investigation, 800,000 images, and 8 million item descriptions.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
LTU competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Imagga: Bulgarian image recognition API provider offering tagging, categorization, visual search, and content moderation. Closely matches LTU's developer-portal/API-first GTM and core visual recognition capabilities.
- Visenze: Singapore-headquartered visual discovery and image recognition platform focused on retail and e-commerce. Directly comparable to LTU on retail/CPG use cases, particularly the Watchdog brand-monitoring workflow.
- Anyline: Austrian mobile visual recognition and OCR/scanning SDK company. Comparable to LTU on mobile SDK distribution, on-device visual recognition, and European enterprise/government customer base.
- Clarifai: US-based computer vision AI platform offering image recognition, visual search, and content moderation APIs. Directly comparable to LTU's Image ID and Visual Search API in product, business model (API/SaaS), and target developer/enterprise buyers.
- Hive: US AI startup offering pre-trained computer vision models via API for content moderation, object detection, and visual search. Directly comparable to LTU on API-first CV delivery and developer/enterprise GTM motion.
- GumGum: US computer vision company applying image recognition to advertising, brand safety, and content analysis. Comparable to LTU on visual recognition applied to media/brand workflows and enterprise SaaS delivery.
Broad incumbents
- Google Cloud Vision AI: Hyperscaler computer vision API offering OCR, image labeling, face detection, and visual search as part of Google Cloud. The dominant broad incumbent against whom LTU differentiates on sovereignty, energy efficiency, and single-reference-image matching.
- Microsoft Azure AI Vision: Azure's computer vision API offering image analysis, OCR, spatial analysis, and face detection. Comparable broad incumbent in enterprise/government CV, with the same sovereignty-led differentiation challenge for LTU.
- Amazon Rekognition: AWS computer vision service for image/video analysis, face recognition, and content moderation. A direct broad-incumbent competitor to LTU in enterprise visual recognition, with the structural advantage of deep cloud-platform integration.
Emerging players
- Scandit: Swiss mobile computer vision and barcode scanning platform for retail, logistics, and healthcare. Comparable on European enterprise mobile visual recognition and SDK distribution model, though Scandit is more focused on barcode/data capture.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
LTU social profiles
Digital presenceLTU compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
LTU financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
LTU leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
LTU funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
LTU M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about LTU
What does LTU do?
LTU develops and sells visual recognition software based on a patented unique-signature algorithm that generates a mathematical fingerprint for each image and matches it in approximately 0.3 seconds without deep learning or training data. Its products (Image ID/Visual Search API, EarthChange, Ekselio, LinkMe, Watchdog, Compute API) are delivered via REST APIs, SaaS, or OnPremise licensing to enterprise and government customers in retail, cultural heritage, defense, manufacturing, and environmental monitoring.
Is LTU a public or private company?
LTU is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was LTU founded?
LTU was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is LTU based?
LTU is headquartered in Puteaux, France, in the Europe region.
How does LTU make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. API / SaaS Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are credit-Based / Per-Activation Model.
Who are LTU's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Imagga, Visenze, Anyline, Clarifai, Hive and GumGum. Broad incumbents are Google Cloud Vision AI, Microsoft Azure AI Vision and Amazon Rekognition. Scandit is listed as an emerging player.
Does LTU have an API?
Yes. LTU offers a comprehensive REST API for image recognition, visual search, and enriched images. The API supports OAuth2 authentication, with endpoints for Documents, Images, Actions, EnrichedImages (image recognition/scanning), Pictures (standalone image recognition), Matches (clickstream statistics), and Core Image Recognition. APIs available include Visual Search API for image/object recognition from databases, Compute API for image analysis (heatmap, color palette, object mask detection, contours), and Mobile SDKs for iOS and Android. Developer portal and sandbox environment available at portal.dev.ltutech.com with documentation at doc.ltutech.com. Developer documentation is at doc.ltutech.com.
What industry is LTU in?
LTU's product category is Computer Vision Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAJAE, Real-Time Vision at the Edge (on-device CV/video). Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7371.