Sumoing
Sumoing is a Helsinki-based mobile app studio building consumer photography, portrait retouching, typography, coloring, and camera apps for individual mobile creatives worldwide via a freemium, in-app purchase model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersHelsinki, Finland
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Sumoing does
Sumoing is a Helsinki, Finland-based mobile app development studio operating a portfolio of five consumer creativity and photography applications: Relook (professional-grade portrait retouching using proprietary Bright-3™ skin layering and multi-phase frequency separation), Retype (typography photo editor with 3D shadow effects), Repix (brush-based photo effects, 15M+ users historically), Recolor (adult coloring app with 2,000+ handcrafted illustrations and 3D coloring), and Camu (camera app, Apple Editors' Choice 2014). The company's underlying technology centers on computational photography and image manipulation algorithms optimized for mobile devices, with selected products integrating desktop creative workflows through Photoshop (.psd) export to iCloud Drive and Dropbox and Samsung S-Pen pressure sensitivity on Android.
The company operates a freemium business model: apps are free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play, with premium features, additional content packs, and professional export capabilities monetized via in-app purchases. Distribution is entirely self-serve and global through the two major app stores, with no B2B channel. Marketing relies on organic social (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), a Vimeo channel, a company blog, and editorial amplification through Apple's App Store features.
Sumoing is privately held, headquartered in Helsinki, employs 1-10 people, and shows no disclosed institutional funding rounds or external investors in the available data. The company serves individual mobile consumers, primarily 'mobile creatives' seeking professional-quality photo and design tools in simplified, affordable form factors, with secondary use cases around adult coloring for relaxation and stress relief. Notable technical differentiators include the Bright-3™ skin layering trademark and the exclusive reliance on professional-grade retouching techniques rarely available outside desktop software.
Sumoing firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sumoing
- Legal name
- Sumoing
- Website
- https://sumoing.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sumoing is a Helsinki-based mobile app studio building consumer photography, portrait retouching, typography, coloring, and camera apps for individual mobile creatives worldwide via a freemium, in-app purchase model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Sumoing is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Helsinki
- HQ country
- Finland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sumoing business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Freemium with In-App Purchases: Apps are free to download with core functionality. Premium features, additional content, and advanced tools are available through in-app purchases. For example, Recolor offers free designs with more available via in-app purchase; Relook includes Photoshop Export as a paid add-on.
- In-App Purchases: Digital content purchases within mobile apps including additional coloring illustrations, style packs, and professional export features
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free download with in-app purchases |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Sumoing product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sumoing develops and publishes a portfolio of five consumer mobile creative applications distributed via the iOS App Store and Google Play: Relook (professional portrait retouching), Retype (typography photo editor), Repix (brush-based photo effects), Recolor (adult coloring book), and Camu (camera app). The apps are free to download and monetize through in-app purchases for premium features and additional content.
Product overview
Sumoing is a mobile app developer offering a portfolio of five creative photography and image editing applications: Relook (professional portrait retouching), Retype (typography photo editor), Repix (creative brush-based photo editing), Recolor (adult coloring book app), and Camu (camera app). The apps are positioned for mobile creatives and operate as standalone products available on both iOS and Android platforms, with some including social sharing features and professional-grade editing capabilities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Repix: Photo editing app with unique effect brushes for remixing photos into creative masterpieces
- Recolor
- Relook
- Retype
- Camu
Products and services
- Relook Professional portrait retouching app for iPhone and iPad that uses proprietary Bright-3 skin layering and multi-phase frequency separation technology to deliver natural-looking facial retouching with tools previously used only by professional photographers.
- Retype
Companies that use Sumoing
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Sumoing technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature5 records
Sumoing partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sumoing competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- VSCO: VSCO is a direct mobile photo-editing peer to Sumoing, offering premium filters and editing tools to creative consumers with a freemium model — overlapping directly with Repix and Relook's target use cases.
- PicsArt: PicsArt is a direct peer in the mobile photo-editing and creative tools space, offering editing, collage, and effects tools to a similar consumer-creator audience as Repix, Relook, and Retype.
- Facetune: Facetune is a direct peer in mobile portrait retouching, competing head-to-head with Relook for users seeking professional-grade facial retouching on smartphones.
- Prisma: Prisma is a direct peer in creative photo effects, applying artistic style transformations to photos — overlapping with Repix's brush-based photo remixing category.
- Colorfy: Colorfy is a direct peer in the digital adult coloring category, competing head-to-head with Recolor on the same iOS/App Store audience for coloring-book content.
- Pigment: Pigment is a direct peer in the mobile adult-coloring category, offering illustrated coloring experiences and premium content packs similar to Recolor.
- Pixlr: Pixlr is a direct peer in mobile photo editing, providing consumer-friendly retouching and creative editing tools that compete in the same category as Repix and Relook.
Broad incumbents
- Adobe Lightroom Mobile: Adobe's Lightroom Mobile is a broad-incumbent photo-editing app from a major creative software vendor, competing with Relook and Repix with deep professional tooling and integrated Adobe ecosystem.
- Snap (Snapchat): Snap's camera platform with AR lenses and editing tools serves the same mobile creative use case as Camu, Repix, and Relook, but at vastly greater scale as part of a social network.
- Canva: Canva is a broad incumbent in mobile design and creative tools, overlapping with Retype's typography-on-photo use case and offering free editing features that compete with Repix.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sumoing social profiles
Digital presenceSumoing financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sumoing leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Sumoing funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sumoing 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 Sumoing
What does Sumoing do?
Sumoing develops and publishes a portfolio of five consumer mobile creative applications distributed via the iOS App Store and Google Play: Relook (professional portrait retouching), Retype (typography photo editor), Repix (brush-based photo effects), Recolor (adult coloring book), and Camu (camera app). The apps are free to download and monetize through in-app purchases for premium features and additional content.
Is Sumoing a public or private company?
Sumoing is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sumoing founded?
Sumoing was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sumoing based?
Sumoing is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, in the Europe region.
How does Sumoing make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Freemium with In-App Purchases are the primary driver. The others are in-App Purchases.
Who are Sumoing's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are VSCO, PicsArt, Facetune, Prisma, Colorfy, Pigment and Pixlr. Broad incumbents are Adobe Lightroom Mobile, Snap (Snapchat) and Canva.
Does Sumoing have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sumoing.