Picsart is an Armenian
technology
Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
based in
Miami, Florida, United States, and
Yerevan, Armenia
Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
that develops the Picsart suite of online photo and video editing
applications
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a ...
, with a social creative community. The platform allows users to take and edit pictures and videos, draw with layers, and share the images on Picsart and other social networks. It is one of the world's most popular apps, with reportedly more than 1 billion downloads across 180 countries.
The company was founded in 2011.
History
Picsart was founded in November 2011 by Armenian entrepreneur
Hovhannes Avoyan
Hovha'nnes Avoyan (Hovhannes Avoyan, ; born March 23, 1965), is an Armenian-American serial entrepreneur, investor and scholar. He is the co-founder and CEO of Picsart, a suite of online photo and video editing applications. He also served as Pr ...
, and Armenian programmers Artavazd Mehrabyan and Mikayel Vardanyan. Its founders developed the first Picsart application as a stand-alone tool to help people alter a photo image on their phone, and additional capabilities were added over time. The first Picsart app launched in November 2011 on
Android
Android most commonly refers to:
*Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google
* Android TV, a operating system developed ...
devices.
In January 2013, Picsart for
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
was released for the
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
.
[ In May, it was released for the ]iPad
The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
. In late 2013, Picsart photo editor became available for Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft Mobile for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design languag ...
.
In January 2014, Picsart became available on devices supporting Windows 8
Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, made available for download via Microsoft ...
.
By April 2015, the company reportedly had seen 250 million downloads for its iOS and Android apps, and had 60 million monthly active users.[
In 2016, Picsart reached 75 million monthly active users.
In 2017, Picsart launched Remix Chat, a messaging system where users can share images directly or in groups and edit them collectively with friends. The company also launched a feature to let its user community create and share custom stickers for free. Picsart also announced that it reached 90 million monthly active users.]
In July, Russian supermodel and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova
Natalia Mikhailovna Vodianova (; born 28 February 1982), nicknamed Supernova, is a Russian supermodel and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
In 2012, she came in third on ''Forbes'' top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $8.6 ...
joined Picsart to help increase social engagement and activism within the Picsart photo community. In October, the company reached 100 million monthly active users and began announcing partnerships with major consumer brands and celebrities.
In March 2019, Picsart reached 130 million monthly active users. Also in 2019, the company was ranked by app analytics company Sensor Tower as the #4 top grossing social photo and video editing app, after Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
, Snapchat
Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...
and YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
.
In January 2020, the company launched an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
lab in conjunction with the American University of Armenia
The American University of Armenia (AUA) (, ՀԱՀ; ''Hayastani amerikyan hamalsaran'', ''HAH'') is a private, independent university in Yerevan, Armenia that is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and Un ...
. Also in July, the company reported over 1 billion app downloads to date.
In February 2021, Humphrey Shi joined Picsart as its Chief Scientist and later founded Picsart AI Research (PAIR) as Picsart’s AI research and development arm.
On August 26, 2021, Picsart CEO Avoyan announced that the company had raised $130 million in Series C funding from Softbank
is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...
, Sequoia, G Squared, Tribe Capital, Graph Ventures and Siguler Guff & Company with a company valuation nearing $1.5 billion, making it the first tech unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unico ...
born in Armenia.[
In February 2022, Picsart acquired Code Republic, a learning platform, to be part of its education division, Picsart Academy.
Also in February, the company launched a new ]API
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...
program called Picsart for Developers, allowing partners to implement Picsart features on their own platforms.
In March 2022, Picsart released AI fonts, a new collection of fonts created with generative AI.
In November 2022, Picsart added an AI Image Generator and an AI Writer to its platform, which make images and copy using generative AI.
AI Style Transfer: This feature allows users to apply artistic styles to their visuals, transforming photos into artworks inspired by various art movements.
The company launched its AI Avatar feature in December 2022. In January 2023, Picsart launched a new standalone app called SketchAI, which uses generative AI to turn sketches into digital art.
Unofficial Modifications
Like many popular applications, Picsart has also seen the emergence of modified versions created by third parties. These unofficial versions often claim to provide additional features or unlock premium tools. However, the official developers do not endorse them, and their use may pose security and legal risks. The company continues to update its software to enhance security and improve user experience.
User Risks & Concerns
Cybersecurity experts caution that unofficial apps may contain malware, leading to privacy breaches or data theft. Additionally, modified versions may violate the platform’s terms of service, resulting in account suspensions or bans.
Products
Picsart develops mobile apps and web browser tools for editing videos and photos. The app and website tools support social networking activities. The features include an AI image generation tool which converts text into images, as well as a background eraser to erase unwanted objects and replace the background. It also includes image filters like blur, retro, VHS, and Y2K.
The apps include:
*Picsart Photo & Video Editor - a photo and video editing app with tools to add filters and various effects, with social network integration. The app is free to use and offers in-app purchases of stickers and other graphic elements.
*Picsart Animator - an animation app allowing the creation of cartoon videos, GIF
The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , ) is a Raster graphics, bitmap Image file formats, image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released ...
s and other animation.
*Picsart Color - a drawing and painting app
*Picsart GIF & Sticker Maker - an animated GIF and sticker generator[
*AI video Generator & Editor - an AI video generation & editing option in the app if you want to enhance your videography.
*SketchAI - an app that turns drawings and photos into digital art using generative AI
The apps are available on ]iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
, Android
Android most commonly refers to:
*Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google
* Android TV, a operating system developed ...
, and Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
mobile devices.
Picsart's web browser tools for PCs have the same features as the Picsart Photo & Video app, but are designed for web browser
A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...
s on PCs running Windows 8.1 or higher.
Built-in social networking features with the apps and website tools allow users to comment, favorite, and follow others using the tools.[
]
Operations
Picsart is headquartered in Miami, Florida and Yerevan, Armenia. The company has additional offices in Beijing; Moscow; Tokyo; Paris; London; Berlin; Los Angeles; Atlanta; Glasgow, Scotland; and Bangalore, India.[ In March 2019, the company reported that 70 percent of its then 360 employees worked in engineering and product development, and half of those employees were female.][
]
Funding
As of August 2021, the company had received $195 million in cumulative venture funding from Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital Operations, LLC is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California, specializing in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. the firm had appro ...
, Insight Partners
Insight Venture Management, LLC (commonly referred to as Insight Partners and previously Insight Venture Partners) is a global venture capital and private equity firm that invests in high-growth technology, software, and internet businesses. The ...
, and others, giving it a reported post-money valuation
Post-money valuation is a way of expressing the value of a company after an investment has been made. This value is equal to the sum of the pre-money valuation and the amount of new equity.
These valuations are used to express how much ownership ...
of roughly $1.5 billion.[
]
See also
* VSCO
VSCO (), formerly known as VSCO Cam, is a photography mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. The app was created by Joel Flory and Greg Lutze. The VSCO app allows users to capture photos in the app and edit them, using preset filters ...
* Prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term ...
* Fotor
Fotor is an online photo editing software developed by Chengdu Everimaging Science and Technology Co., Ltd., launched in 2012. It offers a complete set of tools for both individuals and companies to effortlessly edit photos and design graphics.
...
References
{{Reflist
2011 software
Android (operating system) software
IOS software
Photo software
Universal Windows Platform apps
Mobile applications
Raw image processing software
Windows software
Design companies established in 2011
Mass media companies established in 2011