Shutterstock has acquired Toronto-based Flashstock for $65 million CAD.
Flashstock’s platform allows brands to request custom content from the company’s global network of freelancers. The company last raised a $1.5 million seed round in October 2016 as it sought to aggressively expand its then 50-person team. At the time, the company said it was cash flow positive and achieved 380 percent YoY growth.
“Shutterstock’s global reach, commitment to technology and investment in its platform make it the perfect home for Flashstock,” said Grant Munro, founder and CEO of Flashstock. “We will now be able to offer our cost efficient, streamlined content creation platform to Shutterstock’s global customer base.”
For its part, Shutterstock said that the acquisition of the custom content company would allow it to deliver more personalized content to its 1.7 million customers.
“Custom content has been something we always believed would be an important part of our long term strategy. We’re thrilled to have found Flashstock, a strong business with technology and management that will enhance our product offerings and allow us to grow our partnership with major brands as they look to efficiently create amazing content on-demand,” said Jon Oringer, founder and CEO of Shutterstock.
“This opens up a large new market that Shutterstock will now be able to serve with custom content. Flashstock’s DNA matches ours, and we believe that there is a great cultural fit and that the business can integrate seamlessly into our new platform.”