Google for gifs startup Giphy raises $55m valuing search platform and gif creator tool at $300m
Time to start investing in gifs?
The popularity of the animated pictures used everywhere online has helped the gif search engine and gif creator tool Giphy raise $55m (£38m) from venture capital investors.
The cash follows a $17m round of funding just over a year ago which valued the firm at $80m, as well as crowdfunding some investment in the US.
This series C round comes from Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners, RRE, Betaworks, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, CAA and other previous investors, which bost prior backing of Snapchat, Warby Parker and Airbnb
The investment values the firm at $300m, TechCrunch calculates.
Giphy is like a Google for gifs, letting users search for the perfect gif to illustrate their feelings, or create their own.
It as also partnered with hundreds of brands and media companies to create gif content, including HBO for Game of Thrones and most recently the Academy Awards, where it caught Leonardo DiCaprio reacting to a nudge from Lady Gaga that went viral online.
Giphy also creates web standards for gif usage across platforms, apps and messaging services such as Facebook Messenger and Tinder.
"Giphy has redefined the way GIFs are searched, shared, discovered and created. We are leading a revolution in the way we communicate and changing the way people share information," the company said in a blog post.