Dropbox to acquire photo-focused startup Snapjoy

Cloud storage titan Dropbox has agreed to acquire photo-focused startup Snapjoy, a move that could help Dropbox own the photo organization and backup space.

Snapjoy, a young company that graduated from the Y Combinator program in summer 2011, offered consumers an online photo library that uploaded your photos and organized them into categories like who, what, when, and where.

The move will likely help Dropbox expand beyond the idea of a photo backup and make it more of a place to organize your memories. The acquisition comes just a week after Dropbox agreed to buy Audiogalaxy, which could help Dropbox users with music backup and streaming from the cloud.

Snapjoy co-founders Michael Dwan and JP Ren wrote in a blog post today:

As a fellow Y Combinator company, we’ve always admired Dropbox and loved their product. From the moment we met the founders, it was clear we shared a common goal. By combining forces with their amazing team, we can leverage the technology and scale of their platform and focus on what matters — delivering an incredible photo experience to over 100 million people.

So what happens next? First and foremost, don’t worry — your photos are safe! Though we won’t be accepting new signups, existing users can continue to use Snapjoy to share and enjoy photos just as you do now. We’ll be in touch with more information over the coming weeks.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Photographer silhouette via Dominic Alves/Flickr