500px, a US-based digital photo community which facilitates the sharing and selling of photos, has closed a round of $8.8m series A funding led by venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Harrison Metal, with the participation of entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency, seed stage investment firm Rugged Ventures, angel investor and photographer Dustin Plett, and venture capital firm ff Venture Capital.
500px will use the investment to accelerate its growth, build out its current products and provide new products and services to its community of photographers.
Oleg Gutsol, co-founder and chief executive officer, said: “Having investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Harrison Metal support our vision speaks volumes to the potential we have to achieve our goals. This new round of funding gives us access to the world’s best strategic advisors and provides the resources we need to speed up our innovation pipeline and focus on rapid international growth.”
Jeff Jordan, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said: “500px is all about building and empowering a passionate community of photographers and creating an amazing platform for them to display, share and sell their work. In doing so, they’ve created one of the most beautiful online sites in the world and one that’s enjoying eye-opening user growth and engagement.”
Michael Dearing, founder of Harrison Metal who will be joining the 500px board as a director, said: “A key part of my investment strategy is to discover innovative tech-driven businesses led by exceptional entrepreneurs.”