What Murmuras does

Murmuras GmbH is a Bonn, Germany-based SaaS company founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the University of Bonn. It operates an AI-powered passive measurement platform that captures actual smartphone user behavior — including on-screen content in apps, advertisements, AI assistant conversations, retail app usage, and mobility — through always-on mobile metering rather than cookies, SDKs inside ad inventory, or self-reported surveys. The product surface comprises a core platform plus modular add-ons: GenAI Usage Insights, Retail Market Intelligence, Social Media Ad Tracking (SMAT), Online Shopping Behavior Analysis, Weblinks & Searches Monitoring, Mobility Analysis, and Smart Surveys (context-triggered experience sampling). A free App Usage Analytics Dashboard and a free Academic Research Platform tier support community adoption and top-of-funnel demand generation.

The underlying technology is derived from the Menthal research project (originated 2014 at the University of Bonn, >700,000 cumulative users) and is delivered through two companion apps (Murmuras App for research participants, Menthal App for individual digital wellbeing). The commercial business model combines subscription licensing of the research platform with data-monetization via a 3,000-person German consumer panel serving brand and advertiser customers. Named enterprise customers/partners include Statista, OMG (OmniMedia Group), Ferrero, and DM-Drogeriemarkt/Media-Focus, alongside academic users across psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics. The go-to-market is sales-led into enterprise and academic accounts, with a community-led overlay leveraging Bonn/Marburg university networks. A German-only server architecture and GDPR-aligned privacy posture function as a regulatory procurement filter for European enterprise buyers.

Revenue mechanics rely on custom-priced annual subscriptions and project-based engagements for brands, retailers, ad agencies, and market-research firms. The company has 1-10 employees, has not disclosed institutional funding, and was recognized with the Wissenschaftspreis 2024 award for its retail app analytics work. Operational scope is currently concentrated in Germany/DACH, with website availability in English and German signaling nascent international expansion.

Name

Murmuras

Legal name

Murmuras GmbH

Website

https://murmuras.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Murmuras GmbH is a German SaaS company that provides AI-powered passive mobile measurement technology to analyze real consumer behavior across apps, ads, AI assistants, and retail platforms for brands, advertisers, market researchers, and academic institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Platform Licensing: Murmuras provides its platform to academic researchers and enterprises for conducting behavioral studies. Pricing is customized based on study scope, participant count, and data requirements. The platform is offered as a full-stack solution from data collection (via Murmuras app) to analysis (via web platform).
2. Consumer Insights Services: Provides consumer behavior analytics and market intelligence to brands, retailers, and advertisers. Delivers structured insights on brand visibility, advertising effectiveness, and shopping behavior through the company's panel of smartphone users.
3. Advertising Effectiveness Measurement: Measures ad performance across social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn) and retail apps, providing brands with competitive intelligence and campaign optimization insights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Murmuras provides an AI-powered, privacy-first passive measurement platform that captures real consumer behavior on smartphones — from the first ad impression and AI assistant interaction (ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI) to purchase — by running its own smartphone metering and on-screen measurement technology. It sells subscriptions and licenses of this platform to enterprise brands, retailers, advertisers, market research firms, and academic researchers, supported by the Murmuras and Menthal companion apps for data collection.

Product overview

Murmuras operates a unified AI-powered passive measurement platform for analyzing real consumer behavior via smartphone data. The core platform is complemented by specialized modules including GenAI Usage Insights (AI assistant usage analytics), Retail Market Intelligence (retail app behavior), Social Media Ad Tracking/SMAT (ad exposure measurement), Online Shopping Behavior Analysis, Weblinks & Searches Monitoring, Mobility Analysis (GPS-based movement), and Smart Surveys (context-triggered experience sampling). A free App Usage Analytics Dashboard provides public access to aggregate app usage statistics. Two companion apps — the Menthal App (individual digital wellbeing, >700K users) and the Murmuras App (research participant data collection) — feed data into the platform. The Academic Research Platform provides a separate full-stack solution for researchers to design studies, collect smartphone data, and analyze results.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Menthal: A smartphone app for 'digital diets' and comprehensive study on smartphone behavior. Originally developed at University of Bonn in 2014, the Menthal-App technology serves as the foundation for Murmuras' platform.

Products and services

• AI-Powered Passive Measurement Platform Core SaaS platform that uses AI-powered passive measurement technology to capture real consumer behavior on smartphones — from the first ad impression and AI assistant interaction to purchase — for enterprises and academic researchers.
• GenAI Usage Insights Standalone product that measures how consumers use AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini across apps and the web, capturing prompts and AI-generated responses with explicit consent and converting them into structured brand visibility and information discovery insights.
• Retail Market Intelligence Standalone product that analyzes consumer behavior in retail apps (e.g., Lidl Plus, Walmart, IKEA), tracking coupon targeting, product discount levels, brand conversion rates, and retail-app feature usage across target groups.
• Social Media Ad Tracking (SMAT) Standalone product that captures all ads users actually see in Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn using privacy-first on-device technology, delivering structured marketing insights for specific brands.
• Free App Usage Analytics Dashboard Free public interactive dashboard showing mobile app usage patterns across demographics, including engagement, session duration, and user behavior across popular apps, without requiring registration.
• Academic Research Platform Full-stack research technology platform that lets researchers design behavioral studies, generate participant codes, collect data via the Murmuras app (app sessions, location, surveys, smart questions, wearables), and analyze results on a web platform with export to statistical programs; includes a free tier for students.
• Murmuras App (research participant app) Free mobile app for research study participants that enables participation in scientific studies by providing behavioral data (app usage, location, surveys, in-app content) to researchers; free to use with participant codes issued by researchers.
• Menthal App Free smartphone app that lets individual users analyze their own digital behavior and support digital wellbeing ('digital diets'), and serves as the research data collection tool underpinning the Murmuras platform; over 700,000 cumulative users since 2014.

Quantifiable outcome

• 19% of GenAI conversations result in active AI product recommendations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, key, major and secondary.

• University of Marburg - Research Group Prof. Alexander MarkowetzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research collaboration on smartphone behavior studies. The university group led by Prof. Markowetz co-develops and manages behavioral research projects with Murmuras. Murmuras GmbH and University of Marburg share joint responsibility for data processing under GDPR Article 26.
• StatistakeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for providing smartphone and app behavior statistics. Murmuras provides behavioral data for Statista's consumer market statistics and reports.
• OMG (OmniMedia Group)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for advertising effectiveness measurement in social media. OMG uses Murmuras data for cross-platform ad measurement services.
• FerrerokeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for app usage and retail app campaign efficiency measurement. Ferrero uses Murmuras insights for retail app strategy and campaign optimization.
• DM-Drogeriemarkt / Media-FocuskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for measuring digital consumer journeys and retail market intelligence. Media-Focus aggregates Murmuras data for market research services.
• University of BonncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMurmuras was founded as a spin-off from the University of Bonn in 2019. Ongoing academic research partnerships for behavioral studies in psychology, sociology, and related fields.
• BMVI (Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment funding support for using smartphone data to optimize public transport (ÖPNV) planning. Project SSPT (Smartphone Sensing in Public Transport).
• ZIM (Zentrum für Interaktive Medien)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on reducing digital stress through AI habit analysis of in-app interactions (project SANephone).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Qualtrics: Experience management platform with survey and research capabilities targeting enterprise brands. Comparable in serving enterprise researchers and brands but focused on active survey methodology rather than passive smartphone metering.
• GfK: Major market research firm (now part of NIQ) providing consumer behavior insights, retail intelligence, and advertising measurement. Comparable in consumer panel methodology and end markets (FMCG, retail) but with global scale Murmuras lacks.
• Ipsos: Global market research firm with consumer behavior, advertising, and brand tracking offerings. Comparable as a buyer of behavioral data and a competitor in delivering consumer insights to FMCG and retail clients like Murmuras's customers.
• Nielsen: Global measurement and data analytics company with consumer panels and advertising effectiveness solutions. Directly comparable to Murmuras's audience measurement and brand tracking offerings but at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Kantar: Global market research and insights firm offering advertising effectiveness, brand tracking, and consumer panel solutions. Closely comparable to Murmuras's audience measurement and ad effectiveness product lines for enterprise brand clients.

Direct peers

• Numerator: Consumer behavior data company combining purchase data (receipts, panel) with media exposure for ad effectiveness and shopper insights. Comparable to Murmuras's receipt-scanning and ad measurement capabilities, with larger panel scale.
• Similarweb: Digital intelligence platform providing web and app behavior analytics, advertising insights, and consumer research. Comparable in offering behavioral insights to brands and agencies using digital signals, though via passive web panels rather than on-device smartphone metering.
• Sensor Tower: Mobile app and digital advertising intelligence platform tracking app usage, ad spend, and creative performance. Comparable to Murmuras's Social Media Ad Tracking and App Usage modules for enterprise customers analyzing mobile consumer behavior.
• data.ai (formerly App Annie): Mobile analytics platform providing app market intelligence, advertising insights, and consumer usage data. Comparable in app usage analytics and advertising measurement but using aggregated market signals rather than on-device screen capture.

Regional players

• Statista: Statistics and consumer data platform with which Murmuras has a partnership. While primarily a data aggregator/publisher rather than a measurement company, Statista serves overlapping enterprise and academic research buyer segments in DACH and globally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Murmuras