Meta sells GIPHY to Shutterstock

In an unexpected turn of events, GIPHY, the prolific GIF file-sharing service initially planned for acquisition by Meta, has been purchased by Shutterstock, the American provider of stock photography, tools, and visuals.

Shutterstock is set to acquire GIPHY, an expansive repository of GIFs and stickers that enrich casual conversations across the globe.

This transaction, to be consummated with $53 million in cash, is projected to be finalized at the earliest by June of this year. The agreement also encompasses the continuation of the pre-existing API collaboration between GIPHY and Meta, enabling Meta’s services to access content from GIPHY via API resources.

At present, GIPHY boasts approximately 1.7 billion active users daily, with cooperative platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, Twitter, and Discord, alongside collaborations with prominent entities such as Microsoft, Samsung, and Slack.

Moreover, GIPHY’s GIFs and stickers generate an impressive 1.3 billion search requests daily and are featured in the media more than 15 billion times per day. The content, emanating from a global consortium of independent creators as well as partners like NBC, Disney, Netflix, NFL, MLB, and NBA, enhances the joy of online social communication through the abundance of visual content.

Upon acquiring GIPHY, Shutterstock anticipates harnessing the vast data from GIPHY’s image library to advance generative artificial intelligence and big data configuration, further invest in generative AI for mobile devices, and augment Shutterstock’s content database. This initiative is expected to boost brand visibility and advertising exposure substantially.