Aug 14, 2013

500px said Wednesday that it has raised $8.8 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz and Harrison Metal led the round. Other investors included Creative Artists Agency, Rugged Ventures, Dustin Plett and ff Venture Capital. In addition to the news about the funding, it was announced that Michael Dearing, founder of Harrison Metal, has joined the 500px board as a director. Based in Toronto, 500px is a photo-sharing platform. PRESS RELEASE TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Aug. 7, 2013) 500px, the world’s leading premium photo-sharing platform, today announced the close of $8.8 million in Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Harrison Metal. The other investors include Creative Artists Agency, Rugged Ventures, Dustin Plett and ff Venture Capital. With 2.5 million users, 500px has more than doubled its community in the past year and currently gets over a billion page views each month. The company will use the investment to accelerate its already explosive growth, enhance its current products and offer the worldwide photo community new and innovative products and services to help photographers showcase, share, organize and monetize their photos. The company will also be opening a new office in the Bay Area and will be working with their investors to hire the best and brightest developers, designers and brand managers to round out its talented team. All opportunities will be posted on the 500px jobs page. Tier one investment “Having investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Harrison Metal support our vision speaks volumes to the potential we have to achieve our goals,” says Oleg Gutsol, co-founder and CEO. “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.” “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,” says Jeff Jordan, partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “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. We’re happy to be part of the team and look forward to supporting their efforts to build 500px into one of the world’s leading photography brands.” Michael Dearing joins Board of Directors Michael Dearing, founder, Harrison Metal, will be joining the 500px board as a director in addition to the current board members: Oleg Gutsol, Evgeny Tchebotarev, COO, 500px and John Frankel, partner, ff Venture Capital. “A key part of my investment strategy is to discover innovative tech-driven businesses led by exceptional entrepreneurs,” says Michael Dearing. “That’s what I found in 500px. Oleg Gutsol has an ambitious vision and I look forward to helping shape the company’s future success.” More exposure for photographers According to Gutsol, the 500px community has always been at the heart of the company’s success. And as they scale up and reach new heights, they’ll continue to take a photographer-first approach to the business. Yesterday the company announced an ongoing collaboration with Microsoft that begins with featuring 500px photographers on the Bing homepage. This is the first of many partnerships with leading technology companies and major photography equipment manufacturers that will be announced in the coming months. This will enable 500px to cement its place as the leading platform for photographers to gain exposure for their work and be discovered and recognized for their creative talent. About 500px 500px is a premium photo-sharing platform for aspiring and professional photographers. It is powered by creative people worldwide and lets you discover, share, buy and sell inspiring photos. 500px was founded in late 2009 by two acclaimed photographers and entrepreneurs, Oleg Gutsol and Evgeny Tchebotarev and with over 2.5 million users and over a billion page views each month, has grown to become the premier platform with the highest quality photography worldwide. For more information, please visit the 500px newsroom. About Andreessen Horowitz Andreessen Horowitz backs bold entrepreneurs who move fast, think big and are committed to building the next major franchises in technology. Founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, we provide entrepreneurs with access to our deep expertise and insights in innovation, business development, market intelligence, executive and technical talent, and marketing and brand building. Find us in Menlo Park, Calif., and at www.a16z.com. About Harrison Metal Harrison Metal is located in Palo Alto, California. We invest in early stage technology companies led by exceptional founders. We help founders build products that improve the daily lives of users, successfully take those products to market, and create a thriving business. Visit www.harrisonmetal.com. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.