"A.I. is a new way of creating images, and we need to redefine how the entire graphic design industry works."
In just 14 years, Freepik has transformed from a niche search engine for free images into a global leader in stock imagery valued at over $200 million. Now, the Spanish company is setting its sights on disrupting the graphic design industry dominated by giants like Adobe (ADBE) and Figma by betting big on A.I.
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Since the release of OpenAI's image generator DALL-E in 2022, Freepik has evolved into a comprehensive platform for creating and editing visual content, offering A.I.-powered tools that require little technical expertise. Its features include generative A.I. art models like Flux, which creates high-quality images from text prompts, and Mystic, which enhances resolution and detail. For video, Freepik employs models like Runway for character close-ups, LumaLabs for landscapes, and Mochi V1 for animals, among others. Other tools include sketch-to-image, mockup generators for custom t-shirts, prints, books and an A.I.-powered presentation maker.
Serving 150 million global users monthly, Freepik's A.I. tools have gained traction. Its video generator produced 100,000 videos weekly after launch, while its image model generated over one million images daily as of late October, according to the company. With over 771,000 subscriptions priced from $5.75 to $24.50 a month, Freepik's growth follows the creative software market, which is projected to reach $15 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
Observer spoke with Freepik co-founder and CEO Joaquín Cuenca Abela at the Upscale Conference in Málaga, Spain, where the company is headquartered, in late November to discuss the company's A.I. strategy, its vision to become the next go-to design tool, and the future of graphic design in the A.I. era.
The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Observer: Freepik started as a website for stock imagery and later became a graphic design tool with A.I. features. Tell me about Freepik's shift towards an A.I.-focused company.
Joaquín Cuenca Abela: We were initially a search engine to find free images available on the internet and turned on that idea. We got plenty of traffic and it became very popular and eventually turned into more of a marketplace. But two years ago, generative A.I. exploded, and to me, it was a Sputnik moment. When DALL-E 2 came out, it was like, "Oh shit, this is real." This is not a demo from a lab. This can have real usage.
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 the web page. Initially, it was very bad, but it gave us feedback. We looked at what the users wanted, where it failed and how to improve. And we grew the team, launching more experiments and integrating newer A.I. technologies.
The vision of Freepik has always been to help people create their designs faster. That's our motto. And the thing with A.I. is that it has largely expanded the scope of what we can do to help people. Initially, there were many use cases that were just impossible with a stock image company, like a unique company logo. But there's much more you can do with A.I. to customize illustrations to your audience, designs that were out of reach before.
How do you differentiate yourself from Getty Images or other stock image platforms that are also integrating A.I. into their systems?
My take on this is that initially, we are all going to be relatively close, and over time, we will differentiate more and more.
Legacy players getting into A.I. get relatively low quality. What they have is barely text-to-image. They haven't gone through the process of "how do I make this actually work?" They did the most basic thing that you can do, which is to describe an image you want. But to make it really work for somebody who actually has an idea of what they want, they are not doing that at all; they are just checking the box.
If they really want to get into the game, they will make their own A.I. models. So far, it's just integrating a third-party text-to-image generator. But they are not building this. That's where we think it's the biggest opportunity. We are not just looking at the technology; we are looking at what people need, and then we work backwards. When you start doing that, you realize that an experience that works goes way beyond a text-to-image generator.
Do you expect these A.I. tools to change the makeup of Freepik's users? Who would benefit most from these tools?
Traditionally, we have targeted graphic designers. Now, with the new tools, we are reaching other professionals who weren't users before, such as photographers and interior designers.
We are also getting people in marketing, like social media marketers, that work with videos and images. A.I. is a new way of creating images, and we need to redefine how the entire graphic design industry works.
Do you see Freepik's advancements shaping the skills graphic designers need? Could Freepik become as essential as Photoshop?
Over the years, graphic designers have traditionally done two key things: First, they understand how to communicate visually with customers, often in image formats. Second, they have the technical skills to bring those ideas to life, translating a vision into a finished product. The vision is what's most important. If we can make delivering that vision ten times more efficient, designers and anyone working with graphics will become way more powerful. They'll have more options to offer customers, reach more clients, and work much more efficiently overall.
What's your long-term vision for Freepik? How do you see yourself in the next to two to three years?
We see ourselves as the main interface that people use to create an image.
So no more Getty, no more Unsplash?
Well, there will be no more Adobe, no more Figma.
So the goal is to get to the big guys?
Yeah, it's not to go for Getty or Shutterstock. We're not here for content but for how people create.
Just look at Microsoft. When Microsoft was ruling with Windows, everyone used it, and it was impossible to switch to another operating system. What made it possible was that all of a sudden, Windows was too big [to keep up with evolving needs.] You got the browser, and you got the internet, and people started moving their apps to the internet. Suddenly, tools like APIs needed to run apps weren't tied to Windows -- they just required a browser. Since browsers worked on systems like Apple's iOS and Linux, people finally had the freedom to switch.
I think this is going to happen with Adobe. Photoshop is just too big. Many people [developers] have tried to create single Photoshop classes [a simplified version of Photoshop], but they were always missing some features. But now, if all you need to create [images] is this little set of AI tools, are you going to switch? Because that's definitely something that we can do better than them. So my vision is that Freepik would provide the interface that people need to create graphics.