by april 2012 the company had 18 million royalty-free stock images. the firm announced the shutterstock instant tool in may 2012, which displayed images in an interlocking mosaic to increase viewing speed. the product was launched by the newly formed shutterstock labs, which develops tools and interfaces for shutterstock, among other projects. in may 2012, shutterstock filed for an initial public offering on the new york stock exchange, which it completed on october 17, 2012 under the ticker sstk.