Picsart

Picsart

Company type	Private company
Industry	Software; Internet; Graphic design; Artificial intelligence
Founded	November 2011;13 years ago (2011-11)
Founders	Hovhannes Avoyan Artavazd Mehrabyan Mikayel Vardanyan
Headquarters	Miami, Florida, United States.
Key people	Hovhannes Avoyan (CEO) Artavazd Mehrabyan (CTO) Mikayel Vardanyan (CPO)
Products	Web Editor; iOS and Android apps; Templates Library with 50K+ templates; AI Tools like AI Image Generator; Ad Maker; Background Remover; AI Enhancer; Fonts; Colors
Total equity	$1.5 billion
Members	150 million monthly active users [1]
Number of employees	600
Website	picsart.com

Picsart is a cross-platform design and editing platform that offers web and mobile tools for creating images and videos using templates, layer-based editors and generative-AI features. ^[2] The company emphasizes design-forward workflows through tens of thousands of customizable templates available in the free-to-use browser-based editor (Picsart Web) and in the apps. ^{[3] [4]} As of 2024, TechCrunch reported that Picsart serves about 150 million monthly active users and partnered with Getty Images on a commercially-safe AI image model. ^[1] The apps have been downloaded over one billion times globally. ^[5]

Scale and reach

• Monthly active users: ~150 million (TechCrunch, 2024). ^[1]
• Downloads: 1+ billion worldwide (Forbes, 2021). ^[6]
• Platforms: Web editor and native apps for iOS/Android; integrations include exporting to Meta, Google, and TikTok, and opening/editing from Dropbox and Google Drive in the web editor. ^[7]

Products and features

Picsart describes itself as a design-led creation suite spanning web and apps, centered on template-driven workflows, AI-powered tools, and photo/video editors.

Design templates (web and apps)

• Library of 50,000+ customizable templates spanning social graphics, flyers, posters, logos, resumes, and many more categorie. ^{[3] [4]}
• Template editing supports layers, fonts, brand elements, and export to multiple aspect ratios.

Generative-AI and automation

• Integrated AI Image Generator (text-to-image) and AI Writer (copy generation) in the main editor (2022). ^[2]
• Model partnership with Getty Images to deliver a commercially-safe image generator for business use (2024). ^[1]
• AI-assisted editing features such as background/object removal and upscaling are available on web and mobile. ^[3]

Photo and video editing

• Layer-based photo editor with effects, filters, and object tools; collage and layout tools; video trimming, overlays and effects in the mobile apps. ^[8]
• Browser-based toolset (Picsart Web) provides similar capabilities without installing software; Quicktools and batch utilities cover common editing tasks. ^{[9] [10]}

Platform and community

Picsart combines creation tools with social features, including profiles and Spaces, interest-based communities launched in 2023 to organize collaborative creation and discovery. ^[11]

Developer platform

In 2022, Picsart launched Picsart for Developers, a public API and SDK program that allows third parties to embed editing and generative features into their own products (usage-based pricing). ^[12]

Funding

As of August 2021, the company had received $195 million in cumulative venture funding from Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, and others, giving it a reported post-money valuation of roughly $1.5 billion. ^{[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]}

History

2011–2014: Founding and early releases

Picsart was founded in November 2011 by Armenian entrepreneur Hovhannes Avoyan with engineers Artavazd Mehrabyan and Mikayel Vardanyan; the first app launched on Android later that year. ^[18] The company released an iOS version for iPhone in January 2013 and expanded to iPad in mid-2013. ^[19] In 2014 Picsart added support for Windows platforms, including Windows Phone and Windows 8.1 PCs and tablets. ^{[20] [21]}

2015–2017: Early funding and community features

Picsart raised financing to expand the platform, including a US$10 million round led by Sequoia Capital (February 2015) and a US$15 million round led by Insight Venture Partners (June 2015). ^{[22] [23]} In April 2016 the company secured an additional US$20 million to grow its user base in Asia. ^[24]

Picsart introduced community and collaboration tools during this period, including “Remix Chat” for collaborative editing (2017) and custom sticker creation features. ^{[25] [26]} User growth milestones reported in the press included 100 million monthly active users by October 2017. ^[27]

2018–2020: Scale and research initiatives

By March 2019 Picsart reported reaching 130 million monthly active users, with strong adoption in Asia. ^[28] In late 2019–January 2020, Picsart and the American University of Armenia (AUA) announced a joint artificial intelligence lab in Yerevan to conduct research in machine learning and computer vision. ^{[29] [30]}

2021–2022: Unicorn financing, HQ move, and developer platform

On August 26, 2021, Picsart raised US$130 million in a Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, valuing the company at over US$1 billion. ^{[31] [32]} In February 2022 the company moved its corporate headquarters to Miami Beach as part of a global expansion. ^[33]

Picsart launched an API/SDK program (“Picsart for Developers”) in February 2022 to let partners embed editing capabilities, ^[34] and introduced AI-powered enhancement features in mid-2022. ^[35] Later that year the company added a text-to-image generator and AI writing tools to its consumer apps. ^{[36] [37]}

2023–present: Generative AI products and partnerships

In December 2022 Picsart launched “AI Avatars,” followed by a standalone app, SketchAI, in January 2023 for turning sketches into digital art with generative models. ^{[38] [39]} In May 2023 the company introduced “Spaces,” topic-based in-app communities for collaboration and discovery. ^[40] In 2024 Picsart and Getty Images announced a partnership to build a custom generative AI model trained on licensed content for commercial use within Picsart tools. ^[41]

See also

• Canva
• Adobe Inc.
• Fotor
• Pixlr
• CapCut

External links

• Official website

References

1. Malik, Aisha (June 13, 2024). "Picsart partners with Getty Images to develop a custom AI model". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
2. Malik, Aisha (November 2, 2022). "Picsart adds an AI Image Generator and AI Writer to its suite of creative tools". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
3. "Free Photo Editor — Online Image Editing for Creators". Picsart. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
4. "Instagram Templates". Picsart. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
5. "Picsart Is Tech's Newest Unicorn — And Adobe Should Be Afraid". Forbes. September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
6. See Forbes, ibid.
7. Malik, Aisha (April 21, 2022). "Picsart brings its editing tools to Google Drive with new integration". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
8. "Picsart (for iPhone) — review". PCMag. October 5, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
9. "19 Free Browser-Based Tools Simplify Tedious Image Editing Tasks". PetaPixel. May 4, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
10. "Batch Photo Editor — bulk editing". Picsart. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
11. Malik, Aisha (May 16, 2023). "Picsart adds interest-driven communities called 'Spaces' for social collaboration". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
12. Malik, Aisha (February 9, 2022). "Picsart brings its creative tools to developers with new API". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
13. "Picsart, A Photo Editing App With 200M Downloads, Lands $10M From Sequoia". TechCrunch . February 5, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
14. "PicsArt Raises $15M To Build A Community Around Photo Editing". TechCrunch . June 4, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
15. "Photo app PicsArt gets $20M to grow its user base in Asia". TechCrunch . April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
16. "Picsart, a mobile photo-editing app, to raise $15 million". Fortune . April 13, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
17. "Picsart Is Tech's Newest Unicorn — And Adobe Should Be Afraid". Forbes. August 26, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
18. "After 35 million Android downloads, PicsArt arrives on iPhone". TechCrunch. January 3, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
19. "After 35 million Android downloads, PicsArt arrives on iPhone". TechCrunch. January 3, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
20. "PicsArt photo editor jumps from Phone to Windows 8.1 and wins our affection". Windows Central. June 25, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
21. "PicsArt for Windows 8.1 PC and Tablets" (Press release). PR Newswire. January 7, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
22. "PicsArt, a mobile photo editing and publishing app that claims 60M monthly users, closes $10M from Sequoia". TechCrunch. February 5, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
23. Russell, Kyle (June 4, 2015). "PicsArt Raises $15M To Build A Community Around Photo Editing". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
24. "Photo app PicsArt gets $20M to grow its user base in Asia". TechCrunch. April 20, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
25. "PicsArt Releases Remix Photo Chat" (Press release). Business Wire. February 21, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
26. "PicsArt's custom stickers could make basic effects look boring". Digital Trends. March 21, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
27. Perez, Sarah (October 31, 2017). "Creative-focused app PicsArt hits 100M MAUs". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
28. Shu, Catherine (March 20, 2019). "PicsArt hits 130 million MAUs as Chinese flock to its photo-editing app". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
29. "AUA and PicsArt Announce the Launch of the AI Lab". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. January 9, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
30. "AUA and PicsArt Announce the Launch of the AI Lab". AUA Newsroom. December 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
31. Moreno, Johan (August 26, 2021). "Picsart Is Tech's Newest Unicorn — And Adobe Should Be Afraid". Forbes. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
32. Wilhelm, Alex (August 26, 2021). "Picsart raises $130M from SoftBank, becomes unicorn on the back of its visual creator tools". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
33. Portero, Ashley (February 24, 2022). "Picsart moves corporate headquarters to Miami Beach as part of global expansion". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
34. Malik, Aisha (February 9, 2022). "Picsart brings its creative tools to developers with new API". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
35. "Picsart Launches AI Image Enhancement, Improving Resolution and Quality in Seconds" (Press release). Business Wire. June 8, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
36. Malik, Aisha (November 2, 2022). "Picsart adds an AI Image Generator and an AI Writer to its suite of creative tools". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
37. Kulp, Patrick (November 3, 2022). "Picsart Now Lets Users Generate Images and Text With AI". Adweek. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
38. Growcoot, Matt (December 24, 2022). "Picsart Launches AI Selfie Generator Allowing Users to Create Unique Avatars". PetaPixel. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
39. Wiggers, Kyle (January 5, 2023). "Picsart's AI-powered SketchAI app turns images and outlines into digital art". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
40. Malik, Aisha (May 16, 2023). "Picsart adds interest-driven communities called 'Spaces' for social collaboration". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
41. Malik, Aisha (April 30, 2024). "Picsart partners with Getty to launch a custom AI model for enterprise users". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.