Stipple makes tools that publishers can install to add information, people or product tags to the photos on their site. The idea is to get content in photos labeled, discoverable and eventually monetizable, says founder Rey Flemings.
It's not dissimilar to the likes of Pixazza or ThingD, the latter of which is raising the investor community's eyebrows.
Flemings says Stipple hopes to be the "interactive layer on top of the web's photos." The startup will need to inspire site owners to add an extra bit of javascript for photo tagging to accomplish said mission.
To that end, Stipple has already signed on big client names such as Jive and Atlantic Records. Both Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake's blogs, for instance, uses Stipple for photo tagging. Stipple has also made a WordPress plugin available and formed an alliance with Six Apart to offer publishers more seamless installation capabilities.
Publishers earn a portion of revenue based on engagement and click rate of the content in photos. Flemings believes publishers should consider visitors' photo mouse-overs as the equivalent of searches, where Stipple serves up the desired search results.
Flemings says the startup is already earning revenue, but makes no projections about profitability. The funding will be used to build the team and focus on the product's future roadmap, he says.