Sparrow is a subscription product (B2C2B) that makes scientific research available to the 97% of the world who can't access it. We're powered by scientists & AI to translate critical issues like mental health & climate change into our bite-sized summaries. Our aim is to make science understandable and affordable to anyone who wants to absorb new content.
In 10 seconds? Sparrow transforms scientific journals into easy-to-understand, 3-minute summaries on the issues that matter - we are like Cliff Notes but for scientific topics. We have a library of 470+ easily understandable summaries sourced from over 50,000 scientific journals.
Why does it matter? Trust in our current sources of information is at a historic low while the demand for dependable evidence-based science content has never been higher. Yet, scientific journals - universally recognized as being the most authoritative information source - are only available to 3% of us. Sparrow’s mission is to connect the curious public with the latest science that empowers them to make informed decisions, making a positive impact on the world.
That makes sense. But what exactly do users get? Sparrow is a subscription-based service, where the multi-tiers enable subscribers to access our library 470+ summaries and thousands of scientists in critical topics that matter most as follows:
- The Personal tier ($99/year) is consumer-focused and includes all the content (5/wk) in 4 verticals of their choosing via our online platform, along with weekly podcasts and daily digests in their inbox
- The Professional tier ($3499/year) is geared towards individual professionals and organizations that require unlimited evidence-based research (access to our online library along with all podcasts & digests) in addition to monthly 1-on-1 access to our Ph.D. scientists for specific projects and/or clients.
The digests are summarized in a format that makes sense for non-technical audiences (like the one you're reading now!) with links back to the evidence.
Well... How do you do it? Our content production system is backed by scientific experts trained to curate & summarize scientific research and verified by our in-house content team before being published on our platform. Behind the platform, an early-phase AI system aggregates and curates tens of millions of research articles to assist our experts in knowing what to summarize.
How big can this model get? Big! Our research has identified a significant market opportunity. The science education market is >$77 billion with the existing journal market (for niche technical audiences) already worth $28 billion. By making this content accessible to mass market segments, we see huge potential for growth. Delivering to the US first, where the total addressable market is 19% of the adult population (47 million categorized as the curious public - think individuals who watch TedTalks), recent analysis has shown that 50% are interested in science (24 million as our serviceable available market).
Are you raising funds? Yes, we are looking at raising funds to support the growth of our B2C2B revenue.
How will you utilize these funds? The majority of the funds will be used to grow our stellar team through content, marketing & product hires, especially in the US. We will strengthen our IP with the scale-up of our quality audience, content library, and production engine through our proven customer acquisition model and our know-how (including the optimization of our AI algorithm). As part of this transformational journey, we will be investing in our brand to be recognized as a global source of trust (e.g. "Stamp of Truth"), enabling us to empower consumers and businesses by making science accessible.
Curated by Dr Vivian Chan
Sparrho co-founder and CEO, former VC investor with a Structural Biology PhD from The University of Cambridge. She currently sits on the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Digital Economy Advisory Group. Named by The Guardian as one of the 10 People Under 35 Changing the World in 2019 and in MIT Technology Review's ’35 Innovators Under 35’ in 2017. Passionate about changing the world through science, a pianist, and keen Jazz swing dancer.