How Jetpac turned a $5,000 contest into a funding bonanza

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The Kaggle code-writing contests are interesting if the programming geeks don't get ripped off. But, Jetpac's photo-curation algorithm leaves a lot to be desired.

Last year, San Francisco startup Jetpac offered a $5,000 purse to anyone who could teach a computer to discern which of tens of thousands of vacation photos were any good. More than 200 contestants entered. The second-place winner’s code now lives at the core of JetPac’s iPad travel app, which sifts and displays your Facebook friends’ best travel snapshots to inspire your next excursion.

On Thursday, the company announced that the results of the $5,000 contest had essentially netted them $2.4 million in venture capital funding, mainly from Khosla Ventures and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. That’s some math Jetpac doesn’t need to outsource to appreciate.

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How Jetpac turned a $5,000 contest into a funding bonanza

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First read is on us.
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First read is on us.

How Jetpac turned a $5,000 contest into a funding bonanza

Skift Take

Up Next

How Data Quality Issues Impact Global Hospitality Operations

Trivago Pushes AI-Powered Ads, Tries to Reduce Reliance on Google

British Airways Boosts Loyalty Messaging to 'Reassure' Customers

LA Wildfires: Climate Change, Extreme Weather, and the Impact on Hotels

Engine Shortage Forces Air New Zealand to Scrap Seoul Route, Again

First read is on us.Subscribe to read more essential travel industry news.

First read is on us.
Subscribe to read more essential travel industry news.