SmartFrame
SmartFrame Technologies is a London-based image-streaming platform that serves sports brands, photo agencies, publishers, and advertisers with patented Hyper Zoom technology, theft protection, and contextual in-image advertising on a revenue-share model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What SmartFrame does
SmartFrame Technologies Limited is a London-headquartered image technology company that operates a proprietary image-streaming platform, replacing traditional JPEG downloads with streamed, interactive images delivered at the resolution required by the viewing device. Founded in 2013 and incorporated in England and Wales, the company serves four primary customer segments: sports brands and rights-holders, content owners and photo agencies (e.g., Imago, Action Press, Minden Pictures, Tate Images), publishers (e.g., NationalWorld, NZ Herald, Planet Sport Group, Ruck), and advertisers. The platform is built around the patented Hyper Zoom technology, multi-layer image theft protection (anti-screenshot, anti-scraping), and Content Credentials for authenticity verification, and is accessible via web embed, WordPress plugin, and API/SDK.
The core product portfolio centres on the SmartFrame Image-Streaming Platform, supplemented by SmartFrame Images — a free embeddable editorial image library launched in November 2025 containing more than 40 million images at launch (52+ million by March 2026) — and vertical-specific offerings for Sports Brands, Content Owners, Publishers, and Advertisers. SmartFrame monetises through a revenue-share model: contextual in-image advertising placed across streamed images generates revenue that is split with content owners and publishers, while the platform is offered free to publishers on a freemium basis to drive distribution. The company monetises enterprise sports deals (e.g., Manchester City FC, Six Nations, Brentford FC, New York Jets) through direct, quote-based sales rather than self-serve pricing.
SmartFrame maintains offices in London (HQ), Berlin, Krakow, and New York, operates with 11–50 employees, and has raised $13.5 million in a single disclosed funding round dated October 2016. The company holds IAB Gold Standard and TAG Brand Safety Certified status (both 2024) and has received recognition across sports, publishing, and ad-tech, including the 2026 BusinessCloud MediaTech 50 (sixth place, third consecutive year), PPA Independent Publisher Awards (2025), and finalist status at Digiday (2024), Leaders Sports Awards (2024), and FEVO Sport Industry Awards (2024).
SmartFrame firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SmartFrame
- Legal name
- SmartFrame Technologies Limited
- Website
- https://smartframe.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- SmartFrame Technologies is a London-based image-streaming platform that serves sports brands, photo agencies, publishers, and advertisers with patented Hyper Zoom technology, theft protection, and contextual in-image advertising on a revenue-share model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where SmartFrame is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
SmartFrame business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- In-Image Advertising: Primary revenue stream from contextual advertising displayed within streamed images. Revenue is shared between SmartFrame, image owners, and publishers. The system uses location-based targeting without individual user tracking, making it privacy-compliant.
- Image Licensing and Monetization: SmartFrame disrupts traditional one-off licensing fees by continuously monetizing audiences viewing images through in-image advertising, providing ongoing revenue streams for content owners.
- Publisher Embed Network: Free image licensing for publishers embedding SmartFrame images, with revenue generated through contextually relevant in-image ads. Publishers access millions of images at no cost while SmartFrame monetizes through advertising.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Content Owner Platform - Revenue share model for image monetization |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Publisher Free Embed - Access to 55+ million free editorial images |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
SmartFrame product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SmartFrame operates an image-streaming technology platform that replaces traditional JPEG image downloads with device-optimized, theft-protected streamed images. The platform serves content owners, sports brands, publishers, and advertisers with patented Hyper Zoom, multi-layer image protection, contextual in-image advertising, persistent attribution, and audience analytics, monetizing images through revenue share from in-image ads and licensing.
Product overview
SmartFrame is a unified image-streaming platform offering secure image publishing and monetization solutions. The core SmartFrame Image-Streaming Platform provides patented image-streaming technology with Hyper Zoom, theft protection, and in-image advertising capabilities. The product portfolio includes the SmartFrame Images library (52M+ free editorial images), specialized solutions for Content Owners, Sports Brands, Publishers, and Advertisers, the WordPress plugin for CMS integration, Creative Gallery for ad campaign examples, Content Credentials for authenticity verification, and SmartFrame Galleries for image collections. The platform enables continuous monetization of images through contextual in-image advertising while protecting content from theft.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SmartFrame Images: A free, embeddable editorial image library platform launched by SmartFrame Technologies, providing publishers and image owners access to millions of images.
Products and services
- SmartFrame Image-Streaming Platform
- Hyper Zoom
- SmartFrame Images
- SmartFrame Images WordPress Plugin
- Content Credentials
Quantifiable outcome
- Purchase intent 14% higher with in-context ads
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use SmartFrame
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SmartFrame technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability4 records
Feature7 records
SmartFrame partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
23 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.
- New York JetscoreFirst NFL team to adopt SmartFrame's image-streaming technology for official team photography. The Jets retain full ownership of images and associated rights while accessing new revenue streams through SmartFrame's in-image advertising system. This partnership marks SmartFrame's first deployment with an NFL franchise and U.S. professional sports organization.
- Manchester City FCcoreMajor Premier League football club using SmartFrame's image-streaming technology for official photography. One of SmartFrame's flagship sports brand partnerships internationally.
- New Zealand RugbycorePioneering partnership bringing image-streaming technology to rugby. NZR was the first sports team to adopt SmartFrame's innovative image-streaming technology, establishing the commercial model for the sports industry.
- Six Nations RugbycorePartnership to provide photography and image-streaming for the annual Six Nations Championship. Unlocks new sponsorship revenues and delivers returns for unions and partners through in-image advertising.
- Everton FCcorePremier League club adopted SmartFrame's technology for online image publishing and distribution. Focus on targeting new audiences around the world with enhanced image presentation.
- Brentford FCcorePremier League club partnered with SmartFrame for official photography library and image-streaming technology. Featured in SIG and Yahoo Sports coverage.
- NationalWorldsecondaryUK news publisher using SmartFrame for image streaming and monetization. Featured in SmartFrame's case studies and customer network.
- Planet Sport GroupsecondaryMajor sports media network using SmartFrame technology for creative galleries and advertising campaigns. Part of the Planet Sport network including Planet Rugby.
- ImagosecondaryPhoto agency partner providing stock images through the SmartFrame network, expanding the content library available to publishers.
- NZ HeraldsecondaryNew Zealand's leading news publisher partnering with SmartFrame for image streaming technology.
- LiveScore BetminorSports betting brand advertising on SmartFrame's image network, particularly during World Cup campaigns.
- BetVictorminorSports betting brand partner in SmartFrame's advertising network.
- TropicanaminorJuice brand with advertising presence on SmartFrame's image network.
- PumaminorSports brand advertising on SmartFrame's creative gallery and sports image network.
- RevolutminorFintech brand advertising on SmartFrame's image network through creative campaigns.
- VolkswagenminorAutomotive brand with advertising presence on SmartFrame's creative gallery.
- IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)minorHotel group with advertising on SmartFrame's creative gallery network.
- Etihad AirwaysminorAirline brand advertising on SmartFrame's creative gallery through Manchester City partnership.
- Action PresssecondaryGerman photo agency partner providing editorial images through SmartFrame's content network.
- Minden PicturessecondaryWildlife and nature photography agency partnering with SmartFrame for enhanced image presentation, featured in Earth Day content collaborations.
- Tate ImagesminorArt institution image library using SmartFrame for digital image presentation.
- RAF (Royal Air Force)secondaryUK Royal Air Force using SmartFrame technology for official imagery and visual content.
- Ministry Of DefencesecondaryUK government ministry using SmartFrame technology for imagery and visual content.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SmartFrame competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GumGum: Visual intelligence and contextual advertising platform specializing in in-image and in-screen ad placements. Directly competes with SmartFrame's in-image advertising product for the same brand-safety-focused advertiser budgets.
- TripleLift: Native programmatic advertising platform with strong in-image and visual advertising formats. Competes with SmartFrame on publisher-side image inventory monetization and contextual ad demand.
- Imgix: Real-time image processing and delivery CDN used by developers and digital publishers. Competes with SmartFrame's image-streaming infrastructure on optimization, transformation, and delivery performance.
- Cloudinary: Cloud-based image and video management platform providing transformation, optimization, and delivery APIs. Competes with SmartFrame on developer-facing image infrastructure for digital publishers.
- ImageKit: Image optimization, transformation, and delivery CDN serving digital publishers and developers. Comparable developer-focused positioning to SmartFrame's API-based image-streaming product.
- Gumlet: Video and image optimization/streaming platform with developer APIs, adaptive delivery, and CMS integrations. Comparable streaming architecture and target market to SmartFrame's image-streaming technology.
Broad incumbents
- Getty Images: Global leader in stock and editorial imagery with iStock, Unsplash, and DAM offerings. Competes in image content distribution and has expanded into AI-powered image tools relevant to SmartFrame's workflow.
- Shutterstock: Major stock photography and editorial image platform with enterprise content workflow tools and AI image generation. Broad incumbent in image content distribution and asset management.
- Adobe (Experience Manager / Stock): Comprehensive digital asset management, content workflow, and stock imagery platform. Broad incumbent serving enterprise image management use cases that overlap with SmartFrame's content owner and publisher offerings.
Emerging players
- Pixsy: Image theft protection and copyright enforcement platform helping photographers track and recover unauthorized image use. Overlaps with SmartFrame's anti-theft features for content owners and photographers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SmartFrame social profiles
Digital presenceSmartFrame compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
SmartFrame financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SmartFrame leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
SmartFrame funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SmartFrame M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SmartFrame
What does SmartFrame do?
SmartFrame operates an image-streaming technology platform that replaces traditional JPEG image downloads with device-optimized, theft-protected streamed images. The platform serves content owners, sports brands, publishers, and advertisers with patented Hyper Zoom, multi-layer image protection, contextual in-image advertising, persistent attribution, and audience analytics, monetizing images through revenue share from in-image ads and licensing.
Is SmartFrame a public or private company?
SmartFrame is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was SmartFrame founded?
SmartFrame was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SmartFrame based?
SmartFrame is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does SmartFrame make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. In-Image Advertising is the primary driver. The others are image Licensing and Monetization and publisher Embed Network.
Who are SmartFrame's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GumGum, TripleLift, Imgix, Cloudinary, ImageKit and Gumlet. Broad incumbents are Getty Images, Shutterstock and Adobe (Experience Manager / Stock). Pixsy is listed as an emerging player.
Does SmartFrame have an API?
Yes. SmartFrame offers both a SmartFrame API and SmartFrame SearchAPI for developer integration. The SmartFrame API enables publishers and content owners to programmatically embed, manage, and synchronize SmartFrame images. The SmartFrame SearchAPI enables image search functionality. Developers can generate API access tokens through the Integration section of their SmartFrame account. Developer documentation is at smartframe.io/help-center/smartframe-api.