Freepik’s artificial intelligence ambitions to replace Photoshop: CEO interview

In just 14 years, Freepik has transformed from a niche free image search engine to a global leader in stock images worth over $200 million. Now the Spanish company is looking to disrupt the graphic design industry dominated by giants like Adobe (ADBE) and Figma by betting big on artificial intelligence

Since the release of OpenAI image generator DALL-E in 2022, Freepik has evolved into a comprehensive platform for creating and editing visual content, providing artificial intelligence-driven tools with almost no action required. Technical expertise. Its capabilities include generating artificial intelligence art models such as Flux (creates high-quality images based on text prompts) and Mystic (enhanced resolution and detail). For video, Freepik uses models like Runway for close-ups of people, LumaLabs for landscapes, and Mochi V1 for animals. Other tools include a sketch-to-image, mockup generator for customizing T-shirts, prints, books, and an AI-powered presentation maker.

Freepik’s artificial intelligence tools serve 150 million global users every month and have gained widespread attention. According to the company, its video generator was generating 100,000 videos per week upon launch, while its image model was generating more than 1 million images per day as of the end of October. With more than 771,000 subscriptions and monthly prices ranging from $5.75 to $24.50, Freepik’s growth follows the pace of the creative software market, which is expected to reach $15 According to Grand View Research, this number will reach $1 billion by 2030.

Observer.com interviewed Freepik co-founder and CEO Joaquín Cuenca Abela at a high-end conference in Malaga, Spain, where Freepik is headquartered. In late November, the company’s AI strategy, its vision to become the next go-to design tool, and the future of graphic design in the age of AI were discussed.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Observer Network: Freepik was originally a picture website and later became a graphic design tool with AI capabilities. Tell me about Freepik’s transformation into an AI-focused company.

Joaquín Cuenca Abela: We started this idea as a search engine looking for free images available on the web. We got a lot of traffic and it became very popular and eventually turned into a marketplace. But two years ago, generative artificial intelligence exploded, and for me, it was a Sputnik moment. When DALL-E 2 came out, people were like, “Oh my God, this is real.” This wasn’t a demo from a lab. This can have practical uses.

We went from zero to hero in two years. We built a team and started with low-hanging fruit, like integrating a text-to-image generator into a web page. Initially, it was terrible, but it gave us something back. We studied what users wanted, where it failed, and how to improve. We’ve expanded our team, conducted more experiments, and integrated newer AI technologies.

Freepik’s vision has always been to help people create designs faster. This is our motto. The problem with artificial intelligence is that it greatly expands the scope of how we can help people. Initially, there were many use cases that were not possible for stock image companies, such as unique company logos. But you can do more with artificial intelligence, customizing illustrations for your audience in ways that were previously unachievable.

How do you differentiate yourself from Getty Images or other stock photo platforms that also integrate artificial intelligence into their systems?

My take on this is that initially, we will all be relatively close, and over time we will become more and more different.

The quality of established players entering the field of artificial intelligence is relatively low. All they have is words to images. They haven’t gone through the process of, “How do I make this actually work?” They do the most basic thing you can do, which is describe the image you want. But for it to really work for people who really know what they want, they simply don’t do it; They just tick the box.

If they really wanted to get into the game, they would make their own AI model. So far, it only integrates third-party text-to-image generators. But they didn’t build this. That’s what we think is the biggest opportunity. We don’t just focus on technology; We look at what people need first and then work backwards. When you start doing this, you’ll realize that an effective experience goes far beyond a text-to-image generator.

Do you think these artificial intelligence tools will change the composition of Freepik users? Who will benefit most from these tools?

Traditionally, our target has been graphic designers. Now, with new tools, we can reach other professionals who were not users before, such as photographers and interior designers.

We also recruit marketers who work with video and graphics, such as social media marketers. Artificial intelligence is a new way of creating images, and we need to redefine how the entire graphic design industry operates.

Do you think Freepik’s advancements have shaped the skills required of graphic designers? Will Freepik become as important as Photoshop?

Over the years, graphic designers have traditionally done two key things: First, they understand how to communicate visually (usually in image format) with their clients. Second, they have the technical skills to turn those ideas into reality, transforming the vision into a finished product. Vision is the most important thing. If we can make realizing this vision ten times more efficient, designers and anyone working with graphics will be that much more powerful. They will have more options to serve customers, reach more customers and increase overall productivity.

What is your long-term vision for Freepik? Where do you see yourself two to three years from now?

We see ourselves as the primary interface people use to create images.

So no more Getty, no more Unsplash?

Well, there will be no more Adobe, and there will be no more Figma.

So is our goal to become a big shot?

Yeah, this isn’t for Getty or Shutterstock. We’re not here for the content, we’re here for the way people create.

Just look at Microsoft. When Microsoft ruled with Windows, everyone used it and it was impossible to switch to other operating systems. What made this possible was that suddenly Windows was too big [to keep up with evolving needs.] You have browsers, you have the Internet, and people are starting to move their applications to the Internet. Suddenly, tools such as APIs required to execute applications are no longer tied to Windows, they just require a browser. Since the browser can run on systems like Appleof iOS and Linux, people can finally switch freely.

I think this is going to happen with Adobe. Photoshop is too big. many people [developers] Tried creating a single Photoshop course [a simplified version of Photoshop]but they always lack some features. But now if you need to create everything [images] Do you want to change this set of artificial intelligence tools? Because that’s definitely something we can do better. So my vision is that Freepik can provide the interface people need to create graphics.