NEW ORLEANS – Axiell, an international software and services provider for the cultural services sector, has purchased CultureConnect, which began in 2013 as a startup in New Orleans before moving its headquarters to New York City. Axiell, which serves more than 11,000 customers in 58 countries, said the deal marries its “market-leading data and media management technology with CultureConnect’s best-in-class audience engagement platform to create the first full stack solution for the cultural sector.” Axiell’s headquarters are in Lund, Sweden.
In a statement, Axiell said it hopes the deal will “advance the technology landscape for museums, libraries, archives, and other cultural institutions who are under increasing pressure to digitize and modernize.” Customers will be able to build mobile guides, in-gallery interactives, online exhibitions, virtual programming, and distance learning tools by directly accessing the media and data in their collection management system. It’s a cloud-based solution designed to integrate with enterprise software tools to maximize revenue generation, data collection, and workflow.
Before the acquisition, CultureConnect had grown into an award-winning technology company that “empowers cultural institutions to easily create beautiful and dynamic digital experiences that broaden audience engagement onsite and online.”
The company’s ties to New Orleans began when founder Samantha Diamond participated in entrepreneurship programs produced by 4.0 Schools, the Idea Village and New Orleans Entrepreneurs Week, where Diamond earned the grand prize at 4.0 School’s Education Pitch. The New Orleans Startup Fund and local angel investors invested in CultureConnect in early 2014.
“This is a New Orleans entrepreneurship success story, and I’d like to congratulate Samantha Diamond, the founder and CEO of CultureConnect,” said Jimmy Roussel, the CEO of the Startup Fund, in a statement. “CultureConnect’s story demonstrates that when our community provides advice, access to networks, and capital, we can help companies thrive.”
Diamond is thankful for the early support and customers like the New Orleans Museum of Art, which remains a client today.
“We immediately felt New Orleans’ warm embrace,” she said in a statement. “The city was an ideal place to launch an arts-tech company and provided a robust network of supporters, advisors and angel investors. We proved our leading-edge technology and approach meets a real need in the market. CultureConnect is changing what it means to visit a museum, in part thanks to the start we had in the cultural center that is New Orleans.”
