Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Aug 4
Wrinkles Launches AI Audio Tour App With 1.3 Million Points Across 177 Countries
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Aug 4

Wrinkles Launches AI Audio Tour App With 1.3 Million Points Across 177 Countries

3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Aug 4

Summary

  • Wrinkles debuted on iOS and Android as a location-aware audio guide that automatically plays hidden history and local stories about nearby places.
  • 1.3 million mapped points of interest across 177 countries underpin the launch, and users can ask follow-up questions in real time instead of navigating a screen-heavy self-guided tour.
  • David Stemler and Ryan Hansan built the app after Stemler grew frustrated using the British Museum’s tour app, saying it kept him looking down at his phone rather than at the exhibits.
  • Museums, tourism boards, universities and hotels are the main revenue source, paying to build location-based experiences while the company keeps the consumer app free.
  • Wrinkles is pitching itself beyond travel, adding social sharing and family memory features as it tries to become an everyday way to explore neighborhoods, campuses and hometowns.

Insights

Wrinkles is free for users, but can its partner-funded model deliver great local storytelling without sacrificing trust, accuracy, or privacy?
Can Wrinkles turn every street into an audio story—or is it entering a crowded tour-guide market with little room to stand out?
If places can now “speak” through your phone, who controls the story: historians, businesses, museums, or the AI?