【PuzzleHunters Co., Ltd.】"Photo Restoration": Restoring and Animating Old Photos with AI and Hardware Integration for Seniors

Self-Introduction and Pioneers in the Generative AI Domain

Hello everyone, I am XIAO XIONG (Sean), the CEO of PuzzleHunters Co., Ltd.

We are a technology company that provides various AI solutions spanning text, image, and video generation. Among our product lineup, our most promising B2C project, which has shown rapid organic growth since its launch, is "Photo Restoration." This service utilizes generative AI to restore old, damaged photos and animate them into emotional short videos.

A Unique Target Strategy Focused on Middle-Aged and Senior Demographics

Our target marketing strategy is the polar opposite of the previous presenter, 4kiz. We focus entirely on senior and middle-aged demographics.

When we launched this service in August last year, we did not anticipate such a heavy demographic skew. However, after operating for three months, we discovered that over 90% of our active users are aged 45 and above. This demographic has a deep emotional need: they want to see their deceased parents, loved ones, or long-lost pets move once again, or bring their own youth back to life from old, faded black-and-white photos.

Diverse Product Offerings of "Photo Restoration"

Currently, we offer several formats to suit different user needs: - Photo Restoration Original: A premium service where our designers manually refine old photos to generate highly emotional, high-quality videos (approx. 1,000 yen per photo). - Photo Restoration Speed (Web App): An automated web app where users upload a photo, and our AI automatically enhances, colorizes, and animates it with motion and music in just 5 minutes (approx. 500 yen per generation). - Photo Restoration Frame (Hardware): Launched today on Makuake, this is our latest AI hardware designed specifically for elderly users who struggle with complex smartphone apps. It features built-in NFC, allowing users to play their animated family videos instantly simply by tapping their phone against the frame (approx. 8,000 yen).

We also offer B2B solutions, generating high-speed AI commercials and internal marketing videos for corporations.

Overwhelming Differentiation and "Emotionally Charging" Film Direction

While many video generation AI tools exist, "Photo Restoration" stands out from the competition in two critical ways:

First, we developed a proprietary AI model fine-tuned specifically for old photos. Because our model was trained on a massive database of historic, damaged, and blurry photos, its face restoration and colorization accuracy are significantly higher than general AI models.

Second, we focus on emotional direction that moves people to tears. My co-founder is a professional film director. Instead of animating photos mechanically, our AI algorithm incorporates cinematic techniques, such as natural eye movements, subtle facial expressions, head tilts, and synchronized rearranged background music. Our comment sections are filled with users writing, "I couldn't stop crying," and "I felt like I met my deceased father again."

Achieving Exceptionally Low Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) via SNS Operational Expertise

While other AI tool makers spend massive amounts of venture capital on paid advertising, we acquire users with virtually zero ad spend.

Before venturing into AI, we operated as an SNS marketing and operation agency for over a year. We know exactly how to create viral content and build highly engaged social media communities. Today, our official Instagram and YouTube accounts command over 500,000 followers, driving organic traffic that has converted into over 30,000 active users.

Mass Media Expansion and The Ask for Funding

Our current challenge is reaching older demographics who do not use social media. To bring this emotional experience to seniors, we need to promote our service through traditional, offline media like television, newspapers, and direct mail.

To secure this marketing budget and establish a mass-production pipeline for our "Photo Restoration Frame," we are raising our first round of funding (The Ask). We look forward to partnering with investors who believe in the potential of emotional AI.

Q&A and Feedback

Commentator (Kubelumori): Thank you for your presentation. Witnessing deceased loved ones or pets move again with warmth is a highly meaningful and moving service.

I have a few questions. First, what is your exact B2C monetization model? Second, how do you handle the usability of your service for senior users, who might find uploading photos online challenging? Third, how does your AI automate the emotional aspects of video generation?

XIAO XIONG (Sean): Thank you for your questions.

First, regarding monetization, we have three channels: the designer-led original service (1,000 yen/photo), the automated AI generation on our web app (500 yen/generation), and the "Photo Restoration Frame" hardware launched on Makuake today (8,000 yen/unit). We already have over 30,000 users.

Second, regarding senior usability, that was indeed our bottleneck, which led us to design the hardware "Photo Restoration Frame." Since seniors struggle with apps, we integrated NFC so they can play their videos simply by tapping their phone on the frame. Additionally, we see many younger family members creating the videos and gifting the frames to their parents.

Third, regarding the automation of emotional direction, we leverage our core background in SNS operations. We analyze what kind of visual pacing, motion curves, and musical rearrangements trigger human emotion and encourage social sharing. While other tech companies focus solely on technical specs like resolution, we lead the market through "emotional direction" and "organic user acquisition with extremely low CAC."