Picsart

Last updated

Picsart
Company typePrivate company
IndustrySoftware; Internet; Graphic design; Artificial intelligence
FoundedNovember 2011;14 years ago (2011-11) in Yerevan, Armenia
Founders
  • Hovhannes Avoyan
  • Artavazd Mehrabyan
  • Mikayel Vardanyan
HeadquartersMiami, Florida, United States.
Key people
  • Hovhannes Avoyan (CEO)
  • Artavazd Mehrabyan (CTO)
  • Mikayel Vardanyan (CPO)
ProductsWeb editor; iOS and Android apps; templates library; generative AI tools; photo and video editors
Total equity $1.5 billion
Members150 million monthly active users [1]
Number of employees
1,374 (2024) [2]
Website picsart.com

Picsart is an Armenian-founded 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. [3] Its browser-based editor (Picsart Web) and mobile apps provide template-based and freeform editing for photos and videos. [4] [5] 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. [6]

Contents

Usage

TechCrunch and other outlets have reported that Picsart has around 150 million monthly active users and more than one billion cumulative downloads worldwide. [1] [7] The service is available through a web editor and native apps for iOS and Android, with integrations for exporting content to social platforms and accessing files from services such as Dropbox and Google Drive. [8]

Products and features

Picsart provides a suite of tools for creating and editing images and videos across web and mobile platforms. Its core products include a template library, generative AI features and photo and video editors.

Design templates

The platform includes a library of more than 50,000 editable templates for social media posts, marketing materials and other graphic formats. [4] [5] Templates can be customised with user-provided images, text, fonts and brand elements, and exported in multiple aspect ratios.

Generative AI and automation

Picsart offers integrated generative tools such as an AI image generator and AI text tools, introduced in 2022. [3] In 2024 it announced a partnership with Getty Images to build a custom text-to-image model designed for commercial use within Picsart products. [1] The service also includes AI-assisted functions such as background and object removal and image enhancement on both web and mobile clients. [4]

Photo and video editing

The photo editor supports layer-based editing with effects, filters, drawing tools and collage layouts. [9] Video tools in the apps provide basic trimming, overlays, text and effects intended for social media clips. [10] [11]

Enterprise and developer offerings

In addition to its consumer apps, Picsart offers APIs and software development kits under the "Picsart for Developers" and enterprise programmes. These include a Remove Background API and related image-editing endpoints, [12] [13] as well as an embeddable editor SDK for e-commerce, marketing and web-to-print platforms. [14] [15] The company also markets an AI-assisted ad creation tool, Adpilot, aimed at small businesses and marketers for generating social media ad creatives. [16] [17]

Platform and community

Picsart combines creation tools with social features, including user profiles and interest-based communities. In 2023 the company launched "Spaces," topic-based groups that organise collaborative creation and content discovery within the app. [18]

Developer platform

In 2022 Picsart launched "Picsart for Developers", an API and SDK programme that allows third parties to embed editing and generative features into their own products on a usage-based pricing model. [19] [20]

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. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

History

2011–2014

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. [26] The company released an iOS version for iPhone in January 2013 and expanded to iPad in mid-2013. [27] In 2014 Picsart added support for Windows platforms, including Windows Phone and Windows 8.1 PCs and tablets. [28] [29]

2015–2017

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). [30] [31] In April 2016 the company secured an additional US$20 million to grow its user base in Asia. [32]

Picsart introduced community and collaboration tools during this period, including “Remix Chat” for collaborative editing (2017) and custom sticker creation features. [33] [34] User growth milestones reported in the press included 100 million monthly active users by October 2017. [35]

2018–2020

By March 2019 Picsart reported reaching 130 million monthly active users, with strong adoption in Asia. [36] In late 2019 and 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. [37] [38]

2021–2022

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. [39] [40] In February 2022 the company moved its corporate headquarters to Miami Beach as part of a global expansion. [41]

Picsart launched an API/SDK programme ("Picsart for Developers") in February 2022 to let partners embed editing capabilities, [42] and introduced AI-powered enhancement features in mid-2022. [43] Later that year the company added a text-to-image generator and AI writing tools to its consumer apps. [44] [45]

2023–present

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. [46] [47] In May 2023 the company introduced Spaces, topic-based in-app communities for collaboration and discovery. [48] 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. [49]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Malik, Aisha (June 13, 2024). "Picsart partners with Getty Images to develop a custom AI model". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.[ dead link ]
  2. "Picsart Company Snapshot". Origin by Dialectica. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  3. 1 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.
  4. 1 2 3 "Free Photo Editor — Online Image Editing for Creators". Picsart. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Instagram Templates". Picsart. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  6. "Picsart Is Tech's Newest Unicorn — And Adobe Should Be Afraid". Forbes. September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  7. See Forbes, ibid.
  8. Malik, Aisha (April 21, 2022). "Picsart brings its editing tools to Google Drive with new integration". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  9. "Picsart (for iPhone) — review". PCMag. October 5, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  10. "19 Free Browser-Based Tools Simplify Tedious Image Editing Tasks". PetaPixel. May 4, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  11. "Batch Photo Editor — bulk editing". Picsart. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  12. "Remove Background API". Picsart for Developers. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  13. "Remove Background API for product photos". Picsart Enterprise. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  14. "Introducing Picsart Editor SDK: a full embedded photo editing suite". Picsart. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  15. "SDK libraries". Picsart for Developers. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  16. "AI ad tools". Picsart. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  17. "Adpilot by Picsart". Creati.ai. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  18. Malik, Aisha (May 16, 2023). "Picsart adds interest-driven communities called 'Spaces' for social collaboration". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  19. Malik, Aisha (February 9, 2022). "Picsart brings its creative tools to developers with new API". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  20. "Picsart Enterprise API documentation". Picsart for Developers. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  21. "Picsart, A Photo Editing App With 200M Downloads, Lands $10M From Sequoia". TechCrunch . February 5, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  22. "PicsArt Raises $15M To Build A Community Around Photo Editing". TechCrunch . June 4, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  23. "Photo app PicsArt gets $20M to grow its user base in Asia". TechCrunch . April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  24. "Picsart, a mobile photo-editing app, to raise $15 million". Fortune . April 13, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  25. "Picsart Is Tech's Newest Unicorn — And Adobe Should Be Afraid". Forbes. August 26, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  26. "After 35 million Android downloads, PicsArt arrives on iPhone". TechCrunch. January 3, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2025.[ dead link ]
  27. "After 35 million Android downloads, PicsArt arrives on iPhone". TechCrunch. January 3, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2025.[ dead link ]
  28. "PicsArt photo editor jumps from Phone to Windows 8.1 and wins our affection". Windows Central. June 25, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  29. "PicsArt for Windows 8.1 PC and Tablets" (Press release). PR Newswire. January 7, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  30. "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.[ dead link ]
  31. Russell, Kyle (June 4, 2015). "PicsArt Raises $15M To Build A Community Around Photo Editing". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  32. "Photo app PicsArt gets $20M to grow its user base in Asia". TechCrunch. April 20, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2025.[ dead link ]
  33. "PicsArt Releases Remix Photo Chat" (Press release). Business Wire. February 21, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  34. "PicsArt's custom stickers could make basic effects look boring". Digital Trends. March 21, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  35. Perez, Sarah (October 31, 2017). "Creative-focused app PicsArt hits 100M MAUs". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  36. Shu, Catherine (March 20, 2019). "PicsArt hits 130 million MAUs as Chinese flock to its photo-editing app". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  37. "AUA and PicsArt Announce the Launch of the AI Lab". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. January 9, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  38. "AUA and PicsArt Announce the Launch of the AI Lab". AUA Newsroom. December 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  39. Moreno, Johan (August 26, 2021). "Picsart Is Tech's Newest Unicorn — And Adobe Should Be Afraid". Forbes. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  40. 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.
  41. 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.[ dead link ]
  42. Malik, Aisha (February 9, 2022). "Picsart brings its creative tools to developers with new API". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  43. "Picsart Launches AI Image Enhancement, Improving Resolution and Quality in Seconds" (Press release). Business Wire. June 8, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  44. 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.
  45. Kulp, Patrick (November 3, 2022). "Picsart Now Lets Users Generate Images and Text With AI". Adweek. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  46. Growcoot, Matt (December 24, 2022). "Picsart Launches AI Selfie Generator Allowing Users to Create Unique Avatars". PetaPixel. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  47. Wiggers, Kyle (January 5, 2023). "Picsart's AI-powered SketchAI app turns images and outlines into digital art". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  48. Malik, Aisha (May 16, 2023). "Picsart adds interest-driven communities called 'Spaces' for social collaboration". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  49. Malik, Aisha (April 30, 2024). "Picsart partners with Getty to launch a custom AI model for enterprise users". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.[ dead link ]