PicMix is a photo-sharing and content-discovery app built around in-app photo editing and social contests. Launched in 2012, the app claims about 27 million registered users and reached one million users within its first two months. Its largest single user base is Indonesia (about 35%), with significant user pockets in South Africa (22%) and Nigeria (16%), and notable traction in Venezuela. PicMix integrates with other social platforms rather than positioning itself as a direct competitor. Its revenue and engagement drivers include PicMix Mall, an in-app peer-to-peer marketplace, and brand partnerships that run contests (about 60 brand partners and ~6,000 submissions per contest on average). The company plans to spend on marketing, events, hiring, international expansion (notably African markets and opening its marketplace outside Indonesia), and building a machine-learning engine to improve content discovery and provide brand insights. PicMix is an Instagram-style photo-sharing app built by Inovidea Magna Global that emphasizes frames, stickers and text embellishments as part of the core posting experience. The company sells branded frames and runs brand campaigns and photo competitions that require users to use those branded assets. It also earns revenue from in-app purchases of premium frames, stickers and filters, carrier billing in 75 countries, and a gift card service with Indonesian payment provider Indomog. PicMix charges low starting rates for brand campaigns (about $5,000 per campaign today) and has optimized for emerging-market payment mechanisms to reach users without credit cards. The app launched less than a year before the article and had attracted 11 million users, with 35% in Indonesia and the remainder primarily in South Africa and Venezuela. Users are active: the average user shares 5–10 photos per day, producing roughly 450,000 photo uploads daily, and the product supports feature phones (Nokia Asha), BlackBerry and Android; an iOS version and a U.S. launch were planned within two months.

Total raised

$3M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Apr 2016