We’re getting reports from multiple sources (but no confirmation from the company yet) that photo widget company RockYou has raised a big round of financing. The unconfirmed numbers are $10+ million at a $50+ million valuation, which is in line with what competitor Slide raised late last year. The company had previously raised $1.5 million from Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Slide is the undisputed leader in this space in terms of usage, although PhotoBucket has the most recent Flash tools that allow slide shows containing video, photos and music (look for RockYou and Slide to launch these tools promptly as well). Recent competitor FilmLoop is in the TechCrunch DeadPool after their largest investor, ComVentures, threw them under a bus.
RockYou was involved in a legal dispute last year over the ownership of the original intellectual property used to create the company.
Update: Lightspeed Partner Jeremy Liew has a good comment below, and also see his blog post from last month discussing his thoughts on RockYou and other widget companies.