Boom Raises $7M Series A - Commercial Photography Marketplace

Boom, a rapidly growing company based in Milan, has secured $7 million in Series A funding to advance its two-sided technology platform designed for booking and managing commercial photography projects.

This funding round was spearheaded by United Ventures of Italy, with additional investment from Wellness Holding. The capital will be allocated to fuel the company’s continued expansion and support its objective of capturing “5% market share” within the expansive $80 billion global digital photography industry.

Boom intends to focus its investments on enhancing its unique, easily integrated technology for overseeing the entire commercial photography production process. Furthermore, the company plans to establish a global footprint, extending its operations to 180 countries and including the opening of offices and studios in key locations like London and New York. The platform integrates a marketplace, logistical support, online photo storage, application programming interfaces (APIs), and customer relationship management (CRM) tools, positioning Boom as a comprehensive solution aiming to become the “Amazon for commercial photography”.

“In today’s digital landscape, compelling visual content is critically important,” states Federico Mattia Dolci, co-founder and CEO of Boom. “Data demonstrates that photography is the second most significant factor driving success in online commerce, following only online payment systems. We identified a significant opportunity within this market.”

Dolci explains that despite substantial demand for high-quality visual content, a lack of scalable solutions existed when the company was founded in 2018. Addressing this scalability is central to Boom’s strategy, considering that over 2 trillion photos were uploaded online in 2019 alone.

“Leading online retailers maintain enormous and constantly expanding image libraries,” says Dolci. “As the market rapidly evolved, we recognized a substantial imbalance between the digital supply of and demand for images. Numerous large internet companies were transforming online shopping habits, uploading billions of images daily, yet lacked a content provider capable of meeting their demands for speed, scale, and global reach. The existing system was both costly and outdated.”

To resolve these challenges, Boom has created a technology-driven ordering system that allows businesses and brands to easily commission “high-quality, affordable content” on a worldwide scale. This platform delivers a simplified, automated workflow, supported by a network of thousands of professional photographers, all while maintaining a commitment to quality. The system connects client photoshoot requests with the most suitable photographers in their location and utilizes automated photo-editing to quickly enhance raw images, providing brands with immediate access to finished photos.

Beyond photoshoots, Boom’s ordering system also facilitates bookings for videographers, drone operators, designers, and other creative professionals through its innovative platform.

Boom reports serving over 250 major corporate clients, including prominent names like Deliveroo, Vacasa, Uber Eats, OYO, Lavanda, Casavo, Westwing, and Getyourguide, as well as numerous small and medium-sized enterprises across various industries. Currently operating in more than 80 countries, the platform has processed 3 million images to date, averaging one photoshoot every minute, serving sectors such as real estate, travel, food and beverage, and e-commerce.

Dolci adds: “Our clients can submit an order and anticipate delivery within 24 hours, regardless of whether the photoshoots are conducted in Milan, New York, or Sydney, and whether the order requires a single photoshoot or a thousand. We consistently guarantee speed, efficiency, and consistent quality.”

Notably, Boom reports achieving profitability on a per-unit basis, excluding investments in technology and expansion initiatives, and anticipates achieving full profitability as early as 2022.