Smilebox Raises $2M, Keeps Pushing E-Cards and Photo Services

Redmond, WA-based Smilebox, a provider of software and photo services for electronic greeting cards, scrapbooks, and photo albums, has raised $2 million in equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The investors weren’t disclosed, but Paul Bialek, Rob Stavis, and Richard Wolpert are listed on the form as directors, and they are all previous investors in the company. Smilebox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

We previously reported that Smilebox had raised $400,000 in equity financing last September (when it also acquired photo organizing and printing firm Preclick), but today’s funding looks to be new. Prior to that, the company had most recently raised a $7 million Series B round in late 2007. Its plan seems to be to keep building its leadership in the fast-growing e-card and online photo services sector.

Smilebox was founded in 2005 by Andrew Wright, the former vice president of games at RealNetworks (and a former Microsoftie before that). Wright remains president at Smilebox, according to the company website.

The company is backed by Frazier Technology Ventures (Bialek) and Bessemer Venture Partners (Stavis), as well as a distinguished list of angel investors including Rob Glaser from RealNetworks, Paul Thelen from Big Fish Games, Garr Godfrey from GameHouse, and Wolpert, who hails from Chance Technologies.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.