A new app called Wrinkles uses your location to automatically surface stories about the places around you, acting as an AI-powered audio tour guide that reveals hidden history and local lore. As you explore, it can tell you the secrets behind a building or the history of a street.

The idea behind the app is to allow users to move through the world while hearing the places come to life without having to stare at their phone. The founders, David Stemler and Ryan Hansan, say travel has always been a defining part of their friendship. Over the years, many of their business ideas have grown out of long conversations while traveling.

The startup has built a global foundation of 1.3 million Wrinkles or points of interest across 177 countries. Beyond this foundational content, historians, museums, creators and brands can add their own stories and experiences to the map. Users can discover these stories as they move through the world or explore them remotely by searching and browsing the map.

Wrinkles also offers a social aspect where users can follow friends, family, creators and organizations, then save and share Wrinkles or organize them into custom maps and guides. There’s also a feature to personalize each Wrinkle by attaching family memories, photos, videos and recordings to specific places. Families can collaborate on these histories to preserve stories tied to places like a childhood home, first date location or hometown.

The founders see Wrinkles as more than just a travel app. While it can help spontaneous travelers discover the stories behind new places, they believe it’s also designed for people who want to learn more about the buildings they pass every day or rediscover their own hometowns. The common thread isn’t travel – it’s curiosity.