Giphy has closed a $55 million Series C funding round, valuing the company at $300 million post-money.
The newest round of cash was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from General Catalyst Partners, RRE, Betaworks, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, CAA, and other existing Giphy investors.
Giphy launched in 2013 with the goal of becoming the largest search, discover, and share platform for the GIF format.
Users can upload and tag GIFs, which can then be searched on the company’s website and through native mobile apps.
Since launching, the company has grown to include “live GIFing” for media networks and publishers.
There is now an entire team at Giphy experts dedicated to transforming a live event into a library of searchable GIF content.
Recently the company added built-in support for platforms like Slack and Facebook Messenger.
The company has reached a $300 million valuation without yet attempting to monetize its platform.
Giphy’s new round of funding likely means the company is moving one quick step closer to monetization, although the firm has not announced any plans to that respect.
