Depositphotos, a New York-based stock photo platform with Ukranian origins, has announces a $5 million funding round led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) via the EBRD Venture Capital Investment Program. Previously TMT Investments had invested $3 million in Depositphotos in 201. In this round EBRD contributed $4 million and TMT $1million. The transaction should be completed before the end of the year.
Depositphotos was founded in 2009 and currently has a collection of 41.5 million photos, vector images and videos. Gross 2015 revenue is expected to be about $20 million. Distribution of shares was not disclosed, but CEO Dmitry Sergeyev will retain a controlling stake in the company.
According to Mr. Sergeyev they will use the revenue to grow their operations in Kiev and focus on the emerging markets of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Brazil. Co-founder of TMT Investments, Alexander Morgulchik said, "Depositphotos represents more than the photo bank, it develops third-party services and turns into a multifunctional technology company."
Depositphotos offers monthly subscriptions of 500 images per month for $199 and 10 images per day is $99. (See:
http://depositphotos.com/subscribe.html) Credit prices range from $0.99 to $1.06 per credit depending on the quantity purchased. Image prices range from 1 to 12 credits depending on the file size purchased.
The company pays 30% to 42% commissions meaning that gross revenue after paying royalties is in the range of $12 to $14 million. Worldwide, Depositphoto has over 250 employees. The company says, “the better part of its revenue derives evenly from North America, Western Europe and emerging markets.”
The company claims to have 10 million monthly visitors and 3 million members. It is unclear whether “members” includes contributors or just customers. In any event with an average monthly revenue of under $1.66 million a significant percent of these “visitors” never purchase anything.