Google-backed start-up Pixazza, whose technology links web images directly to relevant product information, has raised $12m (£7.9m) in second-round funding.
The new investment was led by Shasta Ventures, along with existing investors August Capital, CMEA Capital and Google Ventures.
Pixazza plans to use the money to grow its product range as well as its geographic presence. It will also make the most of its leadership position in the market.
Pixazza provides consumers with information that is relevant to images on websites run by publishers in its network, such as www.imnotobsessed.com. By running their mouse over relevant images computer users see small dots or price tags that they can click on to find out the product information for that or a similar item. By clicking through, they can even buy straightaway.
Currently web users view eight billion of its commerce-enabled images a year. Through its publisher network the company says it reaches more than 25m unique visitors a month, two-thirds in the US.
Bob Lisbonne, chief executive of Pixazza, says: “Images dominate the internet and comprise the most visually appealing aspects of many websites, yet images have remained static for more than 15 years.
“This new round of funding provides the resources to realize our vision of making every image interactive by revealing the information inside the trillions of images across the web.”
The service is built on a crowdsourcing platform, which combines the knowledge of product experts with computer algorithms to create the ideal content for each image. They identify, tag, and match products in online images and link them back to products stocked by Pixazza’s advertiser network.
