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Picture yourself with funding: GigaPan Systems lands $1 million Angel round

GigaPan Systems, a company focused on the technology that allows folks to capture high-res panoramic images, just landed $1 million in outside funding.

Rick Turoczy on March 22, 2011

Like pictures? What about really, really, really big pictures? Well, if you do, Portland is a good place to be. Because one of the leaders in the panoramic photo space just happens to be here in Portland. It’s GigaPan Systems, a company focused on the technology that allows folks to capture high-res panoramic images—even with standard DSLR equipment.

And now, they’ve got a little more cash to make that magic happen. You see, GigaPan Systems just landed $1 million in outside funding.

So what exactly do they do?

GigaPan gives experienced and novice photographers the technology to create high-resolution panorama images more easily than ever before, and the resulting GigaPan images offer viewers a new, unique perspective on the world. GigaPan offers the first solution for shooting, viewing and exploring high-resolution panoramic images in a single system: EPIC series of robotic camera mounts capture photos using almost any digital camera; GigaPan Stitch Software automatically combines the thousands of images taken into a single image; and GigaPan.com enables the unique mega-high resolution viewing experience.

How high-res? Well, take a look at this shot of Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Try zooming in. Zoom in some more. And again. Pretty cool right?

“This technology has the potential to change the public’s expectation for online image use and quality,” says Brian Hufft, CFO. “The possible applications are broad, and we are continually surprised by new ways our customers are using GigaPan products and services.”

So it’s no wonder that some folks are interested in seeing this technology succeed. And that’s why GigaPan Systems has landed $1 million in Angel funding. This is the first round of outside funding for the company.

For more information on the technology, visit GigaPan. For more information on the company, visit GigaPan Systems. You can also follow @GigaPanSystems on Twitter.

Published by Rick Turoczy

More than mildly obsessed with the Portland startup community. Founder and editor at Silicon Florist. Cofounder and general manager at PIE. Follow me on Twitter: @turoczy

  3. Rick Turoczy March 23, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    This thread reminds me… Anyone having any luck with Angel.co?

  4. Rick Turoczy March 23, 2011 at 6:38 pm

    If I knew I would tell you.

    The release says “The funding comes from Blue Tree Allied Angels of Penn., and private investors in Ore., Penn. and Wash.”

  5. Jmartens March 23, 2011 at 4:59 pm

    Any hints of who they are that you can tell me off-line?

  6. Rick Turoczy March 23, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    @Jmartens According to the release, there were some “private investors” from Oregon. But they were not named.

  7. Jmartens March 23, 2011 at 12:21 pm

    any idea if the angels are local?

  8. Thomas Hayden March 22, 2011 at 12:04 pm

    Great to hear that GigaPan Systems has received some outside funding. I am a very happy customer who has produced over 150 gigapan images over the last year with my Epic 100 robot. Based here in PDX, I started my gigapanning while producing a virtual tour under the most rugged conditions down in the Grand Canyon on an 18 rafting trip last April. You can now zoom into the Grand Canyon on Google Earth or Bing Maps and find my 28 image gigapixel virtual tour at various locations along the river. Once you open a gigapan image, just keep zooming in to get all the fine detail.

    Most recently, my first paid gig as a gigapan photog has been from the creation of a similar virtual tour of OMSI for Bing Maps Photosynth Map App. When Google finally opens up StreetView (a project I was one of the first photogs on) to prosumer-generated imagery, OMSI will have imagery at the ready. With the Silverlight plug-in on Bing Maps Photosynth App, you virtually tour OMSI’s new exhibit, Lost Egypt, and zoom in to read all the exhibit info or get to know the USS Blueback from the inside out via eight images from inside and on top of the fast-attack submarine.

    You can find most of my images at gigapan.org, search for “undercam”. Even more of my images, which are mostly 360, spherical panos, are at Microsoft’s Photosynth.net (GigaView) and it’s spherical projection gigapixel player.

    I started a FB group called GigaPanners on FaceBook to discuss best practices and showcase content, and the group is a great place to go for those interested in getting involved with the robotic photography arts.

    Hit me on twitter @GigaView360 for recent postings and new emerging media projects.

    Cheers,
    Thomas Hayden

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