What Happened To Autio From Shark Tank Season 14

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Road tripping is an exercise many get pleasure from, whereas others would possibly choose the precise vacation spot over the journey. This could possibly be as a result of some street journeys are lengthy and tedious. Enter the Autio software, proudly introduced on the fact tv present “Shark Tank.” Created in 2017 and formally launched in 2020, Autio was based by Woody Sears, Bill Werlin, and the legendary actor Kevin Costner. It’s a smartphone software that may fully change the way you expertise street journeys.

Autio works by inserting a number of pins alongside a street journey containing tales and details about your environment. Instead of questioning a few specific landmark’s historical past, vacationers are met with implausible info and details. In addition, these tales could be narrated by well-known actors and personalities, which actually places some pizzazz on the manufacturing values of Autio’s assortment of tales and tidbits. So how did Autio’s presentation go on “Shark Tank,” and is the corporate nonetheless round?

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In a season 14 episode from March 2023, Autio was introduced by co-founder Woody Sears. Sears defined he loves touring, and whereas he and his household are trekking, they’re at all times asking many questions, like how a city got here to be. This gave rise to the concept would ultimately turn into Autio. Sears requested for $1 million from the buyers for a 5% fairness within the firm, which instantly triggered Sharks Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary to gasp in shock.

Sears mentioned the app makes use of location knowledge to populate an inventory of tales and details. All a consumer must do is hit play, and the app will maintain the remaining, drawing from over 9,000 Autio entries. Kevin Costner, John Lithgow, and Phil Jackson narrated a few of these tales, which earned approving nods from the “Shark Tank” buyers. At this level, the Sharks start to query Sears, asking how Autio is priced, and Sears answered by saying that the service comes with 5 free tales, and in case you like what you hear, a limiteless yearly subscription prices $36. 

Sears additionally famous that the earlier 12 months had gross sales value $210,000, and this 12 months had already generated $700,000, highlighting explosive progress. However, for the asking value of $1 million, all the Sharks besides O’Leary bowed out. O’Leary requested for 15% fairness. After some back-and-forth negotiating, O’Leary refused to budge at lower than 10%, which triggered Sears to in the end decline.

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So, how did Autio fare within the rapid aftermath of its “Shark Tank” look? Considering Woody Sears’ request for $1 million at 5% fairness, that places the valuation of Autio someplace to the tune of $20 million. During the “Shark Tank” look, Sears reported that the service had round 15,000 customers, however it appears as if the “Shark Tank” impact got here in full drive for Autio, and the corporate noticed an enormous uptick in downloads and subscribers virtually instantaneously. These included app downloads growing by 464%, new subscribers by 105%, and web site site visitors seeing a surge of 1,600%.

By the tip of March, Autio claimed it had 230,000 registered customers, which is an incredible growth for the service in an extremely quick period of time. Despite turning down any investments from the Sharks, it appears as if Autio was nonetheless in a position to capitalize by popping up on the hit present, and it appears to have generated an enormous quantity of curiosity within the subscription service.

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With the aforementioned wave of recognition following the “Shark Tank” look, it needs to be no shock that Autio continues to be very a lot in enterprise. By April 2023, it was reported that Autio had tens of millions of customers, which most likely makes a number of the buyers on “Shark Tank” a bit of sad with themselves for not being extra receptive in direction of the storytelling smartphone software. Users of Autio have additionally given the appliance great accolades, with the service at the moment standing at a 4.8 ranking out of 5 with over 3,500 submissions on the Apple Store.

Besides customers, a number of publications like Forbes and the New York Times have additionally accomplished articles singing the praises of Autio, so it appears as if the corporate has been effectively obtained and isn’t in any rapid hazard of shutting down. It can also be necessary to appreciate that Autio is yet one more service or product that was co-created by a well-known celeb, and Kevin Costner’s involvement greater than probably has helped the enterprise as effectively. Over on Autio’s web site, Costner writes, “Autio could be the biggest thing I’ve ever been a part of.” 

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The fast ascent of Autio actually supplies the corporate loads of alternatives for an growth of the service in many alternative types, whether or not or not it’s enriching the present lineup of tales and details or changing into out there in additional areas than the United States. As of July 2023, Autio is simply out there on iPhones, although the corporate is beta-testing an Android model. 

Beyond placing Autio on Android smartphones, it appears as if the corporate additionally desires to maneuver into worldwide markets. Speaking with TechCrunch, co-founder Woody Sears laid out the plans for Autio’s future and mentioned, “We’ll be launching enterprise integrations to surface our content in new and interesting ways. We also have more community-focused features to encourage story sharing and discovery rolling out over the course of this year. Additionally, we’re piloting new markets for international expansion.” 

So, for these of you on the market trying to elevate your street journeys and travels with fascinating info, Autio is a implausible method to increase your exploration.