Pixsy

Name

Pixsy

Legal name

Pixsy Inc.

Website

https://pixsy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Image Copyright Protection

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829), Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Piracy Monitoring & Discovery (Web/Social/App Store/UGC Crawling) (MPAHAMAC)

Keywords

• Image copyright protection
• Reverse image search
• DMCA takedown service
• Image theft monitoring
• Copyright registration

Headquarters

HQ city

Covina

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Plans: Monthly or annual subscription plans for image monitoring. Users can monitor 500 images for free (forever), with paid tiers for monitoring more images. Billing is recurring with automatic renewal.
2. Case Resolution (No Win, No Fee): Pixsy charges a 50% contingency fee only when cases are successfully resolved and compensation recovered. Submitting a case for resolution is free. This aligns Pixsy's incentives with photographers' interests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Pixsy operates an AI-powered image monitoring and copyright enforcement platform that scans the public internet to find unauthorized uses of users' images. When matches are detected, users can send automated DMCA takedown notices globally across 35 jurisdictions and 15 languages, or submit cases to Pixsy's team of copyright experts and 26 partner law firms for compensation recovery on a no-win, no-fee (50% contingency) basis. The platform also integrates with the US Copyright Office to officially register user works for added legal protection.

Product overview

Pixsy is a unified online platform for image theft protection, built by photographers for photographers. The core platform consists of five integrated modules: Monitor (image scanning and detection), Resolve (case resolution with no-win-no-fee legal support), Takedown (automated DMCA notice sending), Register (US Copyright Office integration), and Integrations (one-click sync from image platforms). Users upload or sync images from platforms like Flickr, SmugMug, and Instagram, then Pixsy's AI-powered scanner monitors over 150 million images daily to find matches. When unauthorized use is detected, users can issue takedowns globally or submit cases for resolution with Pixsy handling the legal process. Add-on features include Protected by Pixsy badges and watermarks, and the Pixsy Academy educational resource. The platform was founded in 2014 and serves over 200,000 photographers from 125+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Protected by Pixsy: A badge/watermark program allowing users to display protection status on their websites and images, warning potential image users that their work is actively protected by Pixsy

Products and services

• Monitor AI-powered image monitoring platform that actively scans the public internet to discover where and how users' images are being used. Provides real-time alerts for new image matches and uses AI to automatically group and filter matches by authorized, unauthorized, or approved use.
• Resolve Copyright infringement case resolution service that recovers compensation for unauthorized image use on a no-win, no-fee basis. Pixsy's team of copyright experts and 26 international partner law firms handle the entire case process, from evidence collection through negotiation and legal pursuit.
• Takedown Automated DMCA and takedown notice tool that sends legally binding takedown notices worldwide with a single click. Legally binding in 35 international jurisdictions and supporting 15 languages.
• Register Copyright registration service that integrates directly with the US Copyright Office, allowing users to officially register their work for added legal protection directly from within the Pixsy app.
• Protected by Pixsy Badge and watermark tool that allows users to display protection status on their websites or images, with pre-designed badges and watermarks warning potential image users that their content is actively protected by Pixsy, including legal warning text.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200,000+ infringement cases handled and resolved
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• The New York TimesflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2021Global copyright enforcement provider for The New York Times Company. Pixsy monitors image copyright globally for all NYT properties, protecting their powerful and creative photographs.
• Professional Photographers of America (PPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership with the world's largest nonprofit photography association (30,000+ members in 50+ countries) to help photographers protect their work from copyright infringement using Pixsy's tools and services.
• SmugMugflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 August 2020Strategic partnership announced August 24, 2020, to provide SmugMug's growing community of photographers with affordable, accessible, and stress-free rights protection tools. Integrates Pixsy services into the SmugMug platform.
• CherrydeckcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 November 2019Partnership announced November 28, 2019, to bring robust image monitoring and copyright protection to professional photographers on Instagram. Cherrydeck is a global marketing platform for creatives with over 55,000 members.
• Binded.comcoreTechnology or Integration · 10 September 2019Acquired blockchain-based copyright platform Binded.com in September 2019. Binded had grown a community of over 15,000 creatives since 2017. Users gained access to Pixsy's market-leading copyright registration and case resolution services.
• FlickrflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2019Strategic partnership announced April 9, 2019, providing Flickr Pro photographers with the first-ever fully integrated end-to-end solution to protect their work. Pixsy's image monitoring and copyright protection tools are accessible directly through Flickr's platform.
• Art Is HelpingminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Partnership with Salem Krieger's Art Is Helping project, which connects artists with charitable organizations. Pixsy provides free Advance plan access (30,000 images) to all Art Is Helping members.
• American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association of imaging professionals including photojournalists, architectural, advertising photographers, and video makers. Partnership provides Pixsy access to ASMP members for image protection services.
• American Photographic Artists (APA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading national organization run by and for professional photographers, recognized for broad industry reach. Partnership supports APA members with Pixsy's copyright protection tools.
• Association of Photographers (AOP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the most prestigious professional photographers' associations in the world, founded 1968. Partnership provides members with access to Pixsy's enforcement and resolution services.
• Guild of PhotographerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based association for all individuals committed to professional photography. Guild of Photographers announced partnership with Pixsy in August 2015.
• CEPIC (Center of the Picture Industry)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordination of European Picture Agencies Stock, Press and Heritage. CEPIC federates 400 picture agencies and photo libraries in 20 countries across Europe.
• Digital Media Licensing Association (DMLA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly PACA, DMLA has developed business standards and promoted ethical business practices for over 60 years, actively advocating copyright protection for members.
• Canadian Association of Professional Image Creators (CAPIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational not-for-profit association dedicated to safeguarding photographers, illustrators, and digital artists. Six chapters spanning from Halifax to Vancouver.
• Master Photographers International (MPI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian-based organization bringing awareness about the professional photography industry and the importance of hiring qualified professionals.
• Deutscher Fachjournalisten-Verband (DFJV)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman Association of Journalists representing more than 11,500 journalists with advocacy, education, representation and legal assistance.
• 26 Partner Law FirmscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGlobal network of expert legal partners and law firms across the world to pursue copyright infringement matters. The network has grown from 11 countries in 2016 to 26 law firms globally by 2017.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Getty Images: Getty Images operates one of the world's largest stock image libraries with proprietary rights enforcement capabilities for its contributor content, competing with Pixsy for image licensing and protection services at the high end of the market.
• Digimarc: Digimarc is an established digital watermarking and identification company providing enterprise-grade image protection technology to large brands and media companies—overlapping with Pixsy at the enterprise enforcement layer.
• Adobe: Adobe's Creative Cloud ecosystem includes content attribution features (Content Authenticity Initiative) and embedded metadata workflows that overlap with Pixsy's Register and protection capabilities for professional creators.
• Shutterstock: Shutterstock operates a global stock content marketplace with contributor rights management and content protection tooling, serving as a broad incumbent in image licensing with partial overlap to Pixsy's enforcement value proposition.

Emerging players

• PhotoShelter: PhotoShelter is a portfolio and e-commerce platform for professional photographers that has begun offering rights management and protection tools, positioning it as a partial competitor and potential partner to Pixsy.
• Imatag: Imatag provides AI-based image tracking and watermarking for visual content protection, focused on enterprise customers—a smaller, emerging player whose technology stack overlaps with Pixsy's monitoring capability.

Others

• Pexels: Pexels is a free stock photography platform that sits at the opposite end of the protection spectrum; relevant as an ecosystem participant driving the broader image usage patterns that Pixsy monitors and protects against.

Direct peers

• ImageRights: ImageRights provides image copyright enforcement services for photographers and agencies, combining reverse image search with takedown and recovery—directly overlapping Pixsy's end-to-end workflow.
• TinEye: TinEye is a pioneer in reverse image search technology used to find where images appear online—the closest direct competitor to Pixsy's core Monitor product for individual creators and rights holders.
• Copytrack: Copytrack offers global image rights enforcement and licensing recovery with a network of international lawyers, competing head-to-head with Pixsy's Resolve service, particularly in European markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PixsyHQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pixsy
• Instagraminstagram.com/pixsy_official
• Xx.com/PixsyHQ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pixsy