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Giphy

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GIPHY
Founded2013
FoundersJace Cooke & Alex Chung
ProductsGIF Platform
ServicesSearching, sharing, and browsing animated GIFs
Websitewww.giphy.com

GIPHY is an online database and search engine that allows users to search for and share animated GIF files.

Beginnings and early history

Alex Chung.

GIPHY was founded by Alex Chung and Jace Cooke in February 2013.[1][2][3] The idea for the business came when the pair was having breakfast, musing on the rising trend of purely visual communication.[1]

When Chung and Cooke first launched GIPHY, the website functioned solely as a search engine for GIFs.

Growth

In August 2013, GIPHY expanded beyond a search engine to allow users to post, embed and share GIFs on Facebook.[4][5][6]

GIPHY was then recognized as a Top 100 Website of 2013, according to PC Magazine.[7]

Three months later GIPHY integrated with Twitter to enable users to share GIFs by simply sharing a GIF's URL.[8]

In May 2014, GIPHY raised $2.4 million in a Series A funding round from investors, including Quire, CAA Ventures, RRE Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, and Betaworks.[9][10]

In January 2015, GIPHY received another $17 million in a Series B funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from General Catalyst and former investors.[10] In addition, GIPHY raised a large portion of the Series B round via Alphaworks’s equity crowdfunding platform.[11]

In March 2015 GIPHY acquired Nutmeg, a GIF messaging service, as one of the company’s first major steps towards the mobile industry.[12] This coincided with the launch of Facebook Messenger’s own development platform, in which GIPHY joined a few exclusive apps in its debut.[12]

In August 2015, GIPHY launched its second mobile app, GIPHY Cam, which allows users to create and share gifs on a social network.[13]

In February 2016 GIPHY raised $55 million in funding at a $300 million valuation.[14]

Partnerships

GIPHY partners with brands to host GIFs that can be shared as marketing promotions via social media channels.[15] The company also created artist profiles on the website, which allow GIFs to be attributed to the artist(s) who created them.[16]

In September 2014, GIPHY partnered with Line to host the inaugural sticker design competition. LINE and GIPHY enlisted a team of digital partners, including Tumblr, Fox ADHD, Frederator, Cut & Paste[disambiguation needed], New Museum, Eyebeam, Rhizome, The Webby Awards, Pratt[disambiguation needed], The Huffington Post and Dribbble to support the event.[17]

In August 2015, Universal Studios partnered with GIPHY to release six gifs promoting the new NWA-based movie, Straight Outta Compton.[18][19]

GIPHY has partnered with over 200 companies and brands to host all their existing content on their own branded channel. GIPHY’s partners include Disney, Calvin Klein, GE, and Pepsi.[20][21][22]

Present day

Today GIPHY’s team consists of 27 people. The company’s corporate headquarters are located in New York City, NY.

References

  1. ^ a b Alfonso III, Fernando. Meet GIPHY, a GIF lovers new best friend. Daily Dot. Feb 5, 2013.
  2. ^ Franzen, Carl. New GIF Search Engine 'Giphy' Sees 30K Visitors In First Weekend. Talking Points Memo. Feb 4, 2013.
  3. ^ Webbys x Grey Goose: Alex Chung of Giphy-Final. Vimeo May 2105.
  4. ^ Gordon, Whitson. GIPHY embeds gifs on facebook, is mankind’s greatest achievement. Life Hacker. August 29, 2014.
  5. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob. Giphy brings animated GIFs to facebook. The Verge. August 29, 2013.
  6. ^ Dreyfuss, Emily.. Alert! GIF’s now “work” on facebook thanks to Giphy. C Net. August 29, 2013.
  7. ^ "Undiscovered: Apps - The Top 100 Websites of 2013 - PCMag.com". PCMAG. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  8. ^ Yeung, Ken. This could get messy: giphy brings animated gifs to your twitter timeline.. The Next Web. November 14, 2013.
  9. ^ Crook, Jordan. http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/15/GIPHY-the-betaworks-backed-gif-search-engine-raising-2-5-million-series-a/ [GIPHY, The Betaworks-backed GIF search engine, is raising $2.5 Million in Series A]. Tech Crunch. May 15, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Giphy. CrunchBase August 25, 2105.
  11. ^ Crook, Jordan. After an approach from Facebook, GIPHY raises $17M at an $80M valuation. Tech Crunch Jan 29, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Crook, Jordan. Giphy + Messenger, Giphys first mobile app, brings GIF search to facebook messenger. Tech Crunch March 25, 2015.
  13. ^ Crook, Jordan. Giphy cam lets you create and share homemade GIFs. Tech Crunch August 20, 2105.
  14. ^ UTC, Seth Fiegerman2016-02-16 21:41:26. "While other startups struggle, Giphy lands $55 million in a week". Mashable. Retrieved 2016-04-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Gap and Other Brands Are Already Using Facebook GIFs". AdWeek. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  16. ^ "GIPHY Gif Search Engine Rolls Out Private Artist Profiles To Help Organize, Monetize The Gif Community". TechCrunch. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  17. ^ LINE & GIPHY fuel creativity to build a true global language. PR Newswire. Sep 25, 2014.
  18. ^ Holmes, Mannie. Universal teams with Giphy on “Straight Outta Compton”. Variety August 13, 2105.
  19. ^ Dove, Jackie. Giphy and LINE jointly launch a new sticker pack for more animated madness. The Next Web April 2.
  20. ^ Heine, Christopher. Subway unleashes 73 GIFs for #januANY campaign. Ad Week Jan 14, 2104.
  21. ^ Johnson, Lauren. Here’s why GIF’s are back in style and bigger than ever for Brands. Ad Week June 24, 2104.
  22. ^ Angio, Joe et al. Digital Maverick 2015. Details May 7, 2105.
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