About PhotoWorks
PhotoWorks is a company based in Seattle (United States) founded in 1999 was acquired by Shutterfly in December 2011. PhotoWorks has raised $20.6 million across 6 funding rounds from investors including Shutterfly, Orca Bay Partners and Zesiger Capital Group. The company has 2 employees. PhotoWorks offers products and services including Photo Books, Cards, Prints, Wall Art, and Gifts. PhotoWorks operates in a competitive market with competitors including Chatbooks, Snapfish, Cheerz, Shutterfly and Mixbook, among others.
- Headquarter Seattle, United States
- Employees 2
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Email••••••••
- Website photoworks.com
- Social X Facebook
- Acquired by Shutterfly (Dec 2011)
- Legal Name Photoworks Inc
- Total Equity Funding$20.6M (USD)
in 6 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$800K (USD), Debt – Conventional
Oct 2007
- InvestorsShutterfly
& 4 more
- Employee Count2
- Acquired by
Products & Services of PhotoWorks
PhotoWorks offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Photo Books, Cards, Prints, Wall Art, and Gifts.
Service for creating custom photo books online.
Platform for designing personalized greeting cards.
High-quality printing of individual photos.
Custom wall art made from user photos.
Variety of photo-based gifts for occasions.
Funding Insights of PhotoWorks
PhotoWorks has successfully raised a total of $20.6M across 6 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Debt – Conventional round of $800 thousand completed in October 2007. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $20.6M
- Total Rounds 6
- Last Round Debt – Conventional — $800,000
- First Round $15M
(Feb 2000)
- Investors Count 3
All 6 funding rounds of PhotoWorks with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2007 | $800,000 | Debt – Conventional | – | – | – |
| Oct 2006 | $3.1M | Series B | – | – | – |
| Jun 2006 | $2.5M | Series B | – | – | – |
| Mar 2005 | $2M | Debt – Conventional | – | – | – |
| Apr 2001 | $2.5M | Debt – Conventional | – | – | |
| Feb 2000 | $15M | Series A | – | – |
4 investors in total: 4 institutional.
Investors in PhotoWorks
PhotoWorks has secured backing from 4 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Shutterfly, Orca Bay Partners and Zesiger Capital Group.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital investing in AI, biotech, and technology sectors, focusing on seed and early stages in Seattle and beyond. | – | madrona.com | - | |
Private equity firm focused on buyouts & investments in the fintech sector | 1998 | orcabaypartners.com | Seattle, United States | |
Limited information available | – | zcgllc.com | New York, United States | |
Personalized photo products including books, gifts, and decor are provided. | 1999 | shutterfly.com | Redwood City, United States |
Investor details for PhotoWorks
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of PhotoWorks
4 dated milestones of PhotoWorks across 12 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded PhotoWorks is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $15.0M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Debt – Conventional, of $800K.
- Exit Acquired by Shutterfly.
Competitors of PhotoWorks
PhotoWorks operates in a dynamic and competitive business environment, facing competition from various established players and emerging companies in the market. The competitive landscape includes prominent companies such as Chatbooks, Snapfish, Cheerz, Shutterfly and Mixbook, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chatbooks.com | 2014 | Provo, United States | $21.9M | 145 | Provider of automatic photo-book creation and printing services | |
| snapfish.com | 1999 | San Francisco, United States | $43.5M | 222 | Photo hosting and customized photo-based products provider | |
| cheerz.com | 2012 | Paris, France | $6.82M | – | Personalized photo products are created and delivered online. | |
| shutterflyinc.com | 1999 | San Jose, United States | – | – | Shutterfly is recognized as a leading e-commerce brand for personalized products. | |
| mixbook.com | 2006 | Palo Alto, United States | $11M | 30 | Customized photo products like books and canvases are created online. | |
| mailpix.com | 2012 | Huntington Beach, United States | $1.05M | 9 | Photo printing and product creation services are offered by MailPix. | |
| flikshop.com | 2011 | Lanham, United States | $120,000 | – | Online platform to create and send photo postcards | |
| postermywall.com | 2010 | Foster, United States | – | 3 | Provides a platform for custom poster designing and printing services. | |
| scrapblog.com | 2006 | San Francisco, United States | $6.5M | – | Scrapbooks are designed online with photos and prints are ordered. |
Detailed competitors of PhotoWorks
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of PhotoWorks
Websites that share an audience with PhotoWorks (photoworks.com).
Websites whose visitors overlap most with PhotoWorks. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| shutterfly.com | 100% | 12.1M | #1,251 | View details | |
winkflash.com | winkflash.com | 100% | – | #2,747,769 | – |
| kodakgallery.com | 100% | 3.3K | #6,364,064 | View details | |
| picaboo.com | 100% | 34.7K | #383,812 | View details | |
| snapfish.com | 99% | 2.9M | #6,987 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 8 similar websites and full traffic analytics for PhotoWorks
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 8 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Similar companies to PhotoWorks
10 companies that operate in the same segment as PhotoWorks (Photography & Online Media Services), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Photo editing and sharing apps are developed by Meitu. | 2008 | Xiamen, Fujian, China | USD 525 M | USD 536.99 M | 2,420 | |
Online platform for creating graphic images | 2012 | Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia | USD 589.22 M | – | – | |
AI-powered platform manages marketing creatives and customer journeys. | 1982 | San Jose, California, United States | – | USD 23.77 B | 30,710 | |
Royalty-free stock photos, creative images, and vectors are supplied globally. | 1995 | Seattle, Washington, United States | USD 625 M | USD 939.29 M | 1,700 | |
AI video generation models and production tools are developed. | 2013 | Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Israel | USD 305 M | – | – | |
Developer of generative AI models for image, video, audio, and 3D | 2021 | London, England, United Kingdom | USD 257 M | – | – | |
Product and portrait photo editing is enabled through mobile application. | 2019 | Paris, France | USD 62.15 M | – | – | |
Social platform for photo and video sharing | 2010 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 57.05 M | – | – | |
Tenor is recognized for providing GIF-based communication tools. | 2014 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 30.5 M | – | – | |
Cloud-based AR-enabled photo collaboration for field services is provided. | 2015 | Lincoln, Nebraska, United States | USD 36.25 M | – | – |
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Frequently Asked Questions about PhotoWorks
PhotoWorks was founded in 1999 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
PhotoWorks is headquartered in Seattle, United States. It is registered at Seattle, Washington, United States.
PhotoWorks is a funded company, having raised a total of $20.6M across 6 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $15M, raised on Feb 2000.
PhotoWorks has 2 employees.
PhotoWorks was founded in 1999 in Seattle, United States, focusing on the photo publishing and storage sector. Personalized photo-based products are offered alongside digital storage solutions. The company operated as part of American Greetings before its acquisition by Shutterfly in May 2011, serving customers through its domain photoworks.com with services centered on photo management and custom merchandise.
PhotoWorks offers Photo Books, Cards, Prints, Wall Art, and Gifts.
PhotoWorks has 4 investors. Key investors include Shutterfly, Orca Bay Partners, Zesiger Capital Group, and Madrona.
PhotoWorks operates through Photoworks Inc.
Yes. PhotoWorks was acquired by Shutterfly in December 2011.