BrightQube says it is creating the first open platform. The startup made a splash last year, launching an entirely new technological platform that bypasses having to review multiple pages to purchase images. The visual display, referred to as the Dynamic Mosaic, simultaneously presents the equivalent of 60 search-results pages.

The Web site currently represents over 3 million royalty-free images from 40 third-party companies and brands, which include traditional and microstock agencies. Its next phase of development aims to allow individual photographer access to both pros and hobbyists.

Since 1997, TCA has invested more than $86 million in over 130 companies, raising some $812 of additional venture capital. The angel network assessed BrightQube as "a brilliant and unprecedented solution to address a huge gap that exists in the stock photography market."