A start-up that makes photos shoppable has gotten the attention of Google, who joined its $5.75 million Series A financing round.
Established in 2008, Pixazza launched its product-in-picture service last week. Similar to ShopThisLook by GumGum, “Pixazza hopes to do for images what Google’s AdSense did for Web pages,” in the words of chief executive officer Bob Lisbonne.
Pixazza offers Web publishers a service that allows site visitors to browse products similar to those that are part of a featured image. The sponsored links allow publishers to generate revenue from images. Pixazza is initially focusing on fashion-related publishers and apparel merchants, but plans to expand into other categories, including home design and furnishings, travel, electronics and sports.
In addition to Google, Pixazza’s financial backers include August Capital, CMEA Capital and several individual investors, such as angel investor Ron Conway, former eBay COO Maynard Webb, and Facebook CFO Gideon Yu.