Whatizis

What Whatizis does

Whatizis, operated by Monument SAS, is a Paris-based company founded in 2019 that has built a mobile application using AI-powered computer vision to identify historical monuments and landmarks from user-taken photographs. Once a monument is recognized, the app serves on-demand audio commentary recorded by professional tour guides, alongside a personal travel-journal feature that archives cultural visits. The product is distributed as a free iOS and Android app and is positioned as the 'Shazam of monuments.' Coverage spans eight cities: Paris (500+ monuments, plus 400+ notable graves across Montmartre, Père-Lachaise, and Montparnasse cemeteries), Rennes, Le Havre, Rouen, Dieppe, Amiens, Autun, and Rome (300+ monuments, added in 2025 for the Papal Jubilee). The product portfolio includes city-branded sub-experiences ('Paris by Whatizis', 'Rennes by Whatizis', 'Rome by Whatizis'), curated walking routes, and the dedicated cemetery navigation module.

The company's business model is hybrid. On the consumer side, the app is freemium with no publicly disclosed pricing for premium features. On the institutional side, Whatizis has signed direct partnerships with French municipal governments and departments — Rennes (summer 2022, first partner), Seine-Maritime Department covering Rouen/Dieppe/Le Havre (May 2023), Le Havre, Amiens (2024), and Autun — under branded city experiences; Rome is the first international partner. Revenue is supplemented by institutional support from the French Ministry of Culture, Région Île-de-France, Paris & Co Welcome City Lab, Station F (where the company is incubated), and the OVHCloud Startup Program. Marketing has been driven primarily by earned media, including appearances on TF1, France 2, M6 (notably the French Shark Tank equivalent 'Qui veut être mon associé?' in February 2023), and BFM TV, plus press coverage in Le Parisien, Maddyness, Les Echos, Telerama, and Ouest-France. Monument SAS is a privately held French simplified joint-stock company (SAS) with €34,500 in share capital, 1–10 employees, and no disclosed external funding rounds or institutional investors.

Name

Whatizis

Legal name

Monument SAS

Website

https://whatizis.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Whatizis is a Paris-based mobile app that uses AI visual recognition to identify monuments and deliver on-demand professional audio guides, serving individual tourists across eight cities in France and Italy while partnering with municipal tourism boards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Travel Application

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Monuments, Statues & Memorials (THAJACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC), History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN), Cultural, Heritage & Arts Travel Agencies (THAKAFAK), Consumer Navigation & Turn-by-Turn Apps (BPAMANAA)

Keywords

• Mobile travel application
• Visual recognition technology
• Cultural tourism services
• Audio tour guides
• Monument identification

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. City/Municipal Partnerships: Whatizis partners with cities and local governments (Rennes, Le Havre, Rouen, Dieppe, Amiens, Autun) who support the platform to promote their cultural heritage. These partnerships likely involve municipal funding or tourism development grants.
2. Freemium App Model: The app is free to download on iOS and Android, with basic monument identification features. The freemium model suggests potential premium features or content available for purchase or subscription.
3. Institutional Support and Grants: Whatizis receives support from institutional backers including the French Ministry of Culture, Région Île-de-France, Paris & Co Welcome City Lab, and Station F startup incubator.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Whatizis operates a mobile application (iOS and Android) that uses AI-powered visual recognition to identify monuments from photos taken by users. Upon identification, the app delivers on-demand audio guides featuring professional tour guide commentary, plus an interactive travel journal to archive cultural visits. The app covers over 500 monuments in Paris and has expanded to multiple French cities (Rennes, Le Havre, Rouen, Dieppe, Amiens, Autun) and Rome, Italy.

Product overview

Whatizis is a mobile-first travel companion application built around visual monument recognition technology. The core Whatizis Mobile App serves as the primary platform, using AI-powered visual search to identify over 500 monuments from photos. The product portfolio includes city-specific sub-brands (Paris by Whatizis, Rennes by Whatizis, Rome by Whatizis), each providing localized monument databases and curated walking routes. Additional modules include on-demand Audio Guides featuring professional commentary and a Cemetery Tours feature covering Paris's three major cemeteries. The platform operates exclusively through native iOS and Android mobile applications distributed via the App Store and Google Play Store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Whatizis Mobile App A mobile application for iOS and Android using AI visual recognition to identify monuments from photos and deliver professional audio guides, covering multiple cities including Paris, Rome, Rennes, and Amiens for individual travelers and cultural tourists.
• Paris by Whatizis City-specific content package for Paris featuring over 500 recognizable monuments, walking routes, and themed tours through districts like Le Marais, Montmartre, and Champs-Élysées, available to tourists and visitors.
• Rennes by Whatizis City-specific content package for Rennes, Brittany, launched summer 2022 with over 100 monuments including Parliament of Brittany, Cathedral, and themed Olympic sporting heritage routes.
• Rome by Whatizis City-specific content package for Rome, Italy, launched in 2025 for the Papal Jubilee covering over 300 monuments including palaces, churches, ancient ruins, fountains, and obelisks with offline functionality.
• Walking Tours Curated walking routes connecting monuments, such as 'From Hôtel de Ville to Opéra Garnier', 'From Cathedral to Champs-Élysées', and 'From Trocadéro to Saint-Germain-des-Prés', with interactive maps for self-guided cultural exploration.
• Paris Cemetery Tours Feature covering three Parisian cemeteries (Père-Lachaise, Montmartre, Montparnasse) with interactive maps to locate and learn about graves of notable personalities, including nearly 400 celebrity tombs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ monuments identifiable in Paris
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, moderate and minor.

• City of RomecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Added in 2025 for the Papal Jubilee. Over 300 monuments recognized on simple photo including palaces, churches, ancient ruins, fountains, and obelisks. Features 'Rome by Whatizis' branding.
• City of AmiensmoderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024New partner in 2024 featuring UNESCO World Heritage sites (Notre-Dame Cathedral, Belfry) and lesser-known local monuments.
• City of AutunminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Gallo-Roman city in Saône-et-Loire partnership launched June 2023. Features 'Les Incontournables d'Autun' walking route covering ancient theater, Cardo maximus, and other historical sites.
• Seine-Maritime DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2023Departmental government covering Rouen, Dieppe, and Le Havre. Launched 'La Seine-Maritime by Whatizis' branded coverage in May 2023 with dedicated content for three cities.
• City of RennescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022Historic partner city since summer 2022. First city to offer the app to visitors and residents. Over 100 monuments recognized with dedicated city branding ('Rennes by Whatizis'). Added Olympic heritage route in 2024 for the Olympic flame passage.
• Région Île-de-FranceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional government body providing support and funding for innovation in the Île-de-France region. Displayed as a supporting partner on Whatizis marketing materials.
• Paris & Co Welcome City LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading startup incubator in Paris focused on tourism, culture, and entertainment innovation. Welcome City Lab is a premier innovation hub for tourism, culture and entertainment in North America, partnered with Paris Welcome City Lab.
• Station FcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld's largest startup campus located in Paris. Whatizis is incubated at Station F, gaining access to startup ecosystem resources and networking.
• 42 Startup ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup support program providing mentorship and resources for emerging technology companies in France.
• Ministère de la CulturemoderateGTM or Marketing PartnerFrench Ministry of Culture provides institutional recognition and support for cultural innovation projects.
• RATPminorGTM or Marketing PartnerParis public transportation authority. Partnership provides visibility among Paris transit users and commuters.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• GetYourGuide: Major OTA for tours, attractions, and activities worldwide. Comparable in serving cultural travelers, though it focuses on booking third-party guided tours rather than AI-driven self-guided monument identification.
• Google Lens: General-purpose visual recognition tool from Google that can identify landmarks and monuments for free. The most significant competitive threat to Whatizis's core visual recognition value proposition, though it lacks curated audio guide content.
• Tiqets: Digital ticketing platform for museums and attractions. Comparable in serving cultural venues and tourists, though it operates as a ticketing infrastructure layer rather than a content-led monument recognition app.
• Headout: Curated tours and attractions marketplace with last-minute booking. Comparable in the cultural tourism space but focused on transactional guided experiences rather than self-guided monument exploration.

Direct peers

• GPSmyCity: Self-guided walking tour app covering thousands of cities with offline maps and editorial content. Comparable to Whatizis in the self-guided cultural tourism category, though it lacks visual monument recognition as the trigger.
• Rick Steves Audio Europe: Free audio walking tours for European cities curated by a travel personality. Comparable in providing on-demand cultural commentary for travelers, but with a single guide voice and without computer vision identification.
• Smartify: Visual recognition app for artworks in museums and galleries. Directly comparable to Whatizis in combining computer vision identification with cultural content delivery, though Smartify focuses on indoor museum artworks rather than outdoor monuments.
• VoiceMap: Platform for self-guided audio walking tours with GPS-triggered commentary. Comparable to Whatizis in delivering on-demand audio guides tied to specific locations, though it relies on geolocation triggers rather than visual recognition.

Emerging players

• TourSphere: Platform that lets tour operators convert in-person tours into self-guided mobile experiences. Comparable in the self-guided cultural tour category, though positioned as a B2B tool for tour operators rather than a direct-to-consumer monument recognition app.
• Detour: Location-based audio storytelling app that guides users through cities with cinematic narration. Comparable in delivering premium on-location audio content for travelers, though it focuses on narrative experiences rather than visual monument identification.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/whatizis
• Xx.com/whatizis
• Facebookfacebook.com/whatizis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whatizis-monument

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Whatizis