123RF
 | This article contains promotional content. (April 2025) |
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Stock photography, stock footage, stock music |
| Founded | 3 April 2005 |
| Founder | Andy Sitt, Stephanie Sitt |
| Fate | Active |
| Headquarters | Selangor, Malaysia |
Number of employees | 350 (2015) |
| Parent | Inmagine Group |
| Website | www |
123RF is a company that sells stock photography, stock footage, and stock music. The two co-founders are Andy Sitt and Stephanie Sitt, who is the current CEO.[1]
History
[edit]In 2000, 123RF Andy Sitt left his job at a British company that sold stock images in CDs while showing customers printed catalogs. He launched an e-commerce business by setting up Inmagine, selling large-format photo prints.
In 2005, Inmagine set up 123RF, which sells royalty-free stock images, videos, and audio clips. Unlike the previous business model, 123RF allows photographers to sell their work on the platform under a crowdsourcing model.[2]
In 2011, Inmagine established a global presence with 44 regional offices worldwide.[3] Offices were founded in North and Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Australasia.[4]
In 2019, Inmagine reorganized its business into three main products: 123RF, Pixlr, and Designs.ai. The launching of Pixlr Market (now Stock by Pixlr) and Pixlr Editor commences.[5]
In 2020, the company launched its first artificial intelligence platform, Inmagine Brain.[6] In November 2020, the company confirmed that it had been subject to a data breach, with 8.3 million customer records available for sale on the dark web.[7]
Through 123RF, Inmagine created a visual guide in 2021 to predict image search trends.[8]
In June 2022, the company launched a free images section where audiences can download images with a limited amount of daily downloads.[9]
In April 2026, 123RF launched Sphere, a platform described by the company as a "creative operating system" combining campaign planning, asset production, and publishing for marketing teams and agencies.[10][11]
Acquisitions
[edit]In March 2017, 123RF acquired TheHungryJPEG, a UK-registered font and graphics marketplace and its sister company Craftbundles for an undisclosed sum.[12][13]
In April 2017, 123RF acquired Pixlr, an online web-based image editor from Autodesk for an undisclosed sum.[14]
In November 2017, 123RF acquired Vectr, a web-based vector editor and Story & Heart, a video education platform.[15]
References
[edit]- ↑ Tan, Tee May (11 October 2017). "5 Of The Most Common Startup Pain Points—Solved By This M'sian Startup Worth US$220 Mil". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ↑ "How Malaysian husband and wife bootstrapped one of the world's top stock image players". Tech in Asia.
- ↑ Administrator, Systems. "Inmagine – About". Inmagine. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ↑ Administrator, Systems. "Inmagine – Contact". Inmagine. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ↑ "This company makes content production easier with AI: Q&A with Designs.ai CEO Warren Leow". KrASIA. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ↑ Editorial (1 May 2022). "Inmagine Evolved From A Digital Stock Photo Library To A Complete Creative Ecosystem Driven By Creativity, Technology, And Entrepreneurship". Tech Company News. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ↑ "Popular stock photo service hit by data breach, 8.3M records for sale". BleepingComputer. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ↑ "123RF's visual guide to image search trends and colours in 2021". www.marketing-interactive.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ↑ "Free Stock Photos and Images – Download free images for free!". 123RF Stock Photos. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ↑ Tarre, Mark (10 April 2026). "123RF launches Sphere AI platform for Malaysian marketers". ITBrief Asia. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Sphere by 123RF". 123RF. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Malaysian stock photo startup 123RF acquires TheHungry.JPEG to grow design resources globally". e27..
- ↑ "123RF acquires design marketplace TheHungryJPEG". www.dealstreetasia.com. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ↑ "123RF acquires Pixlr, looking towards securing 50M monthly active users". e27.
- ↑ "Malaysia: Digital stock media firm Inmagine Group buys two US companies". www.dealstreetasia.com. Retrieved 19 November 2017.