funding

Visual storytellers can apply for one of seven grants and 10 mentorship program slots to help them tell important environmental stories through photography.

Aftershoot, known for its AI-powered image editing software for photographers, has announced a $1 million Create Together fund to support the photography community and help enable up to 750 photography events through an initial wave of grants.

Lapse, a camera app that mimics the days of waiting for film to develop before showing snapshots to friends, raised an additional $30 million in funding, fueling the trend of stripped-down social media platforms.

AI-powered photo editor Photoroom has received a significant injection of new funding to the tune of $43 million.

The buzz around artificially intelligent (AI) image generators shows no signs of abating as one of the companies behind Stable Diffusion announces it has raised $50 million at a $500 million valuation.

Metalenz, which makes flat, “meta-optic” lenses for 3D imaging and sensing – like those used in facial recognition – that are incredibly compact and multifunctional, just closed a $30 million venture funding Series B round and is shipping product to some “household names” in the mobile device game.

Locket, a popular app that shares photos straight to family and friends' home screens, has just announced that it has secured $12.5 million in funding.

Facet, an API and browser-based content-aware artificial intelligence (AI) photo editor, has raised $13 million in a Series A round of funding to continue to build tools that have a chance to seriously shake up the photo editing space.

The used camera market is booming if a recent cash investment of £49.8 million (~$69 million) that MPB.com just raised is any indication. The company claims to "recirculate" about 300,000 pieces of equipment a year and expects to pass $139 million in revenue in 2021.

Snappr wants to be the go-to service for business to get fast, easy access to photographers at rates as low as $89 per session. The company operates like a mix of Uber and ThumbTack, with on-demand access to creatives in 200 metropolitan areas, and could be coming to a city near you.

The Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup GuruShots has raised $5 million in Series A funding for its crowd-based real-world photography game, which gamifies photography for enthusiasts around the world.

The mobile photo-editing app startup Polarr has announced that it just raised another $11.5 million in Series A funding as it continues to capitalize on the boom in smartphone photography.

Light, the startup behind the groundbreaking 16-camera camera L16, has a new investor with a much longer history in photography. Leica is now a shareholder in the computational photography company.

Lots of photographers and creators, particularly from the YouTube world, have been relying on subscription crowdfunding services such as Patreon to provide a constant source of income from supporters. There's now a new competitor in the space: Kickstarter has just announced a Patreon competitor called Drip.

I confess: I’m a photo gear junkie. I’ve bought dozens of cameras and lenses, way too many tripods, camera bags and backpacks, and many thousands of dollars’ worth of filters, flash units, and other accessories. I’ve tempered my obsession over the last few years, mostly because there's only so much room to store these things, but from the flood of new products hitting the market recently I'd say I slowed down just in time.

Magnum Photos, one of the most prestigious photographic agencies in the world, is celebrating a storied 70-year history this year, but it is a history that has not been without financial trouble. The agency has recently announced that they will be taking outside investment for the first time to help them grow and innovate in the digital age.

Since being founded in 2012, Gameface Media has become a dominant force in amateur sports event photography. But in recent times, photographers shooting for Gameface have complained of payments being delayed by many months. Today there's a bit of good news: Gameface has raised another $2.6 million from investors and is now promising to pay photographers very soon.

The world of iPhone lenses is heating up, and Moment doesn't want to be left behind. The company—known for its high quality smartphone lenses—just launched a Kickstarter to fund a new wide-angle lens, a slim mounting case, and a battery case that features a two-stage shutter button.

When Light unveiled its revolutionary L16 multi-aperture computational camera in October 2015, people were so excited by the device that the company blew past its first month sales goal in the first two days. Today the company announced that it has just raised $30 million in funding to change the way people take pictures.

One of the biggest drone stories in 2015 was the unveiling of the Lily drone, a robotic device that makes shooting aerial photos and videos as easy as tossing a drone into the air. There's no complicated piloting: AI, computer vision, and GPS help take care of everything for you.

It's a idea that has attracted a huge amount of interest: after announcing $15 million in private funding last month, Lily is revealing now that it has received a whopping $34 million in pre-orders from 60,000 customers.

The drone company XCraft has successfully raised $1.5 million at a $6 million valuation after appearing on the ABC reality TV show Shark Tank. The two founders convinced all 5 "sharks" to invest in the company, which builds next generation camera drones that go beyond your standard quadcopter.

500px today announced that it raised another $13 million in venture funding in order to continue growing its photo sharing and licensing services. The fresh cash will help the company battle against bigger companies in both spaces, including Flickr and Getty Images.

Smartphone photography is becoming one of the main ways people share visual stories with the world, and Getty Images wants to help bankroll powerful mobile photo projects. The company is teaming up with Instagram to launch a new photography grant that will hand out $30,000 to help Instagram users tell important stories.

The world's largest drone maker is quickly becoming one of China's most powerful homegrown companies. DJI announced today that it has raised another $75 million in venture capital funding, and recent talks with investors have reportedly pegged the value of the company at a whopping $10 billion.

Visual Supply Co., better known as VSCO, is becoming a juggernaut in the photo world. After raising an impressive $40 million from investors last May in order to build out its photo community, the Oakland-based retro preset company has just raised another $30 million.

Photo sharing service EyeEm has raised an additional $18 million in funding after taking $6 million from investors back in 2013. The new war chest will be used to further the company's mission of becoming the top network for photographers looking to make some money with their photos.

Lytro has announced that it just raised $50 million to undergo a "strategic shift" in strategy. Instead of focusing on light field photography and refocusable 3D photos, the company plans to expand into the fields of video and virtual reality. A large number of jobs will be shed during this process.

Having your wedding guests take pictures for you with their smartphones isn't just convenient for couples on their big day -- it turns out it can become a big business as well. WedPics, one of the leaders in this emerging niche, is growing like a weed and has secured new funding to the tune of $4.25 million.

What happens when ‘the cloud’ gets personal? According to Kwelea Inc., you end up with MBLOK. Deemed “one memory for all devices,” MBLOK is a pocket-sized SSD with integrated Bluetooth technology that allows you to store and access data from up to 7 mobile devices, all on the go.

Known most for their film emulation presets, mobile app, and creative network, Visual Supply Co. has taken the photography world by storm since their inception in March of 2011. Releasing VSCO Film, VSCO Keys, VSCO Cam, VSCO Grid, and their VSCO Journal, they’ve shown that they aren’t only a company looking to sell products – they’re a company striving to build an entire community by creating and establishing effective resources for photographers.

And as of today, there’s proof in the form of dollars that others believe in their endeavors. $40 million dollars worth of belief to be precise.