VCs flocking to mobile photos: Instagram raises $7M

February 2, 2011 8:59 AM
Anthony Ha
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MobileBeat 2013
July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA
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Instagram, the startup behind a popular iPhone application for editing and sharing photos, just announced that it has raised $7 million in funding led by Benchmark Capital.

Back in December, I heard that Instagram was raising funding from Benchmark, although the deal wasn’t closed yet. Instagram said today that Benchmark’s Matt Cohler, who was formerly Facebook’s vice president of product management and has been described as a close advisor to CEO Mark Zuckerberg during Facebook’s early days, is joining Instagram’s board of directors.

Instagram also unveiled some famous new angel investors, including Quora co-founder/former Facebook chief technology officer Adam D’Angelo, Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey, and Lowercase Capital’s Chris Sacca.

I’ve already been impressed by the speed of Instagram’s growth, and the San Francisco startup shared more numbers today — it said it now has nearly 2 million registered users who post more than 290,000 photos per day. Again, that’s less than four months after the app first launched.

Instagram launched at around the same time as two other high-profile mobile photo apps — Path and Picplz. All three companies now have high-profile backing. Andreessen Horowitz invested in Picplz (the firm also backed Instagram back when it was focused on location app Burbn, but partner Marc Andreessen said he will take a passive role in Instagram), and yesterday Path announced funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Noticeably absent from the investor lineup is Sequoia Capital, which was earlier rumored to be backing Instagram. Sequoia did end up investing in blogging service Tumblr, which is so photo-heavy that it could be seen as a photo-sharing site.

  • http://twitter.com/logicalmoron Matt Lynley

    I'm curious to see what a16z's involvement will be from here on out

  • http://www.venturebeat.com Anthony Ha

    Probably nada.

  • http://venturebeat.com/2011/06/13/instgram-5-million-users/ Instagram: We have 5M users, nearly 100M photos | VentureBeat

    [...] (which is presumably why each of the top venture firms has backed a photo startup — Instagram has raised money from Benchmark, Picplz is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Path has money from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, [...]

  • http://www.e-learningfree.com/instagram-we-have-5m-users-nearly-100m-photos E-learning, E-book, Tutorial Online Instagram: We have 5M users, nearly 100M photos

    [...] (which is presumably why each of the top venture firms has backed a photo startup — Instagram has raised money from Benchmark, Picplz is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Path has money from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, [...]

  • http://androidrockstar.com/?p=9750 Instagram: We have 5M users, nearly 100M photos

    [...] (which is presumably why each of the top venture firms has backed a photo startup — Instagram has raised money from Benchmark, Picplz is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Path has money from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, [...]

  • http://suzuki.crafty5.com/2011/06/13/instagram-nous-avons-des-utilisateurs-5m-pres-de-100-millions-de-photos/ Instagram: Nous avons des utilisateurs 5M, près de 100 millions de photos | Suzuki

    [...] doute pourquoi chacune des entreprises de risque supérieur a soutenu un démarrage photo – Instagram a recueilli des fonds de référence , Picplz est soutenu par Andreessen Horowitz , a de l’argent de Kleiner Perkins Caufield [...]

  • http://technewsninja.com/2011/08/instagram-reaches-150-million-photos/ Instagram Reaches 150 Million Photos | Tech News Ninja

    [...] Instagram will do with this good will remains to be seen. They raised a pretty big round of funding this year, and they haven’t put forth a clear path to monetization, while [...]

  • http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/boKkxMydmdg/instagram_reaches_150_million_photos.php Instagram Reaches 150 Million Photos

    [...] Instagram will do with this good will remains to be seen. They raised a pretty big round of funding this year, and they haven't put forth a clear path to monetization, while competitors [...]

  • http://www.scripting4u.com/2011/08/instagram-reaches-150-million-photos/ Instagram Reaches 150 Million Photos | Scripting4U Blog

    [...] Instagram will do with this good will remains to be seen. They raised a pretty big round of funding this year, and they haven't put forth a clear path to monetization, while competitors [...]

  • http://techlies.enformable.com/2011/08/instagram-reaches-150-million-photos/ Instagram Reaches 150 Million Photos | Techlies – News for the Herd – Headlines that Shatter

    [...] Instagram will do with this good will remains to be seen. They raised a pretty big round of funding this year, and they haven’t put forth a clear path to monetization, while [...]

  • http://prbuilder.com/news/instagram-ceo-talks-advertising-and-growth/ Instagram CEO Talks Advertising and Growth | PRbuilder.com

    [...] in San Francisco, where he said Instagram is more focused on growth than revenue. Thanks to venture funding from Benchmark Capital, Instagram doesn't need to make money right away, and with so many competing apps, the company [...]

  • http://www.webguo.com/?p=175007 webguo在路上 » Instagram启示录

    [...] Dorsey、Quora联合创始人Adam D’Angelo等VC手里拿到了700万美元的首轮融资(via VentureBeat) ，Benchmark合伙人、前Facebook产品管理副总裁Matt [...]

  • http://www.north.com/latest/color-raising-millions-failing-badly-instagram-fine-thanks/ Color: raising millions, failing badly. Instagram: fine thanks : NORTH : a brand agency in portland oregon

    [...] Instagram received $7 million in funding and has 14 million users according to the company [...]

  • http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/08/instagram-funding/ Rumored Instagram funding may boost its valuation from $25M to $500M | VentureBeat

    [...] raised $7 million in funding in February 2011. The round was led by venture firm Benchmark Capital and included Baseline [...]

  • http://eskobo.com/2012/03/09/rumored-instagram-funding-may-boost-its-valuation-from-25m-to-500m/ Rumored Instagram funding may boost its valuation from $25M to $500M – – Tech News AggregatorTech News Aggregator

    [...] raised $7 million in funding in February 2011. The round was led by venture firm Benchmark Capital and included Baseline [...]

  • http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/06/instagram-android-app-funding/ Instagram, riding its Android app high, is raising more funding | VentureBeat

    [...] and striking while the iron is hot (and the Android app hotter) makes total sense. The company raised a modest $7 million back in February [...]

  • http://www.simplyboundless.com/2012/04/instagram-riding-its-android-app-high-is-raising-more-funding/ Instagram, riding its Android app high, is raising more funding | Simply Boundless Entertainment

    [...] and striking while the iron is hot (and the Android app hotter) makes total sense. The company raised a modest $7 million back in February [...]

  • http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/09/instagram-ceo-just-made-400-million-or-725000-per-day/ Instagram CEO just made $400 million, or $725,000 per day | VentureBeat

    [...] will do nicely also. Benchmark Capital, which led Instagram’s $7 million first funding round in 2011, has an 18 perent stake, while Andreessen Horowitz and Baseline Ventures each hold about 10 [...]

  • http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/10/dylans-desk-why-instagram-is-worth-1-billion-and-your-startup-isnt/ Dylan’s Desk: Why Instagram is worth $1 billion, and your startup isn’t | VentureBeat

    [...] 2011: $8.65 million for Path, led by Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and Index Ventures, and $7 million for Instagram, led by Benchmark [...]

  • http://www.thesociety.org.au/home/dylans-desk-why-instagram-is-worth-1-billion-and-your-startup-isnt/ Dylan’s Desk: Why Instagram is worth $1 billion, and your startup isn’t – The Society – Entrepreneurs Epicentre

    [...] 2011: $ 8.65 million for Path, led by Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and Index Ventures, and $ 7 million for Instagram, led by Benchmark [...]

  • http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/18/dylans-desk-when-a-100m-return-on-investment-looks-like-a-big-mistake/ Dylan’s Desk: When a $100M return on investment looks like a big mistake | VentureBeat

    [...] Benchmark to move in. Benchmark holds an estimated 18 percent of the billion-dollar company, after leading the $7 million first round and participating in the Sequoia-led $50 million second round just prior to the [...]

  • http://relevantlin1.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/defining-the-differences-in-funding-rounds/ Defining the Differences in Funding Rounds | #Josh.Lin

    [...] to more of a $7-15million raise being typical. Recent examples: Uber(cab) raising from Benchmark, Instagram’s raise from Benchmark Who invests: Your traditional venture funds (Sequoia, A16Z, Benchmark, Accel, [...]

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