Recraft Secures $12 Million in Series A Funding to Revolutionize Graphic Design with AI
London-based startup Recraft has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round, co-led by Khosla Ventures and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. Additional support came from RTP Global, Abstract VC, Basis Set Ventures, Elad Gil, and individual angel investors.
Founded by Anna Veronika Dorogush, creator of the CatBoost open-source gradient boosting library, Recraft plans to use the funding to enhance its AI-powered graphic design generator. The goal is to develop a proprietary design foundation model that enables brands to create consistent and quickly iterated designs tailored to their unique color palettes and styles.
As part of the rapidly growing creative AI market, projected to expand at a CAGR of over 34% from 2022 to 2032, Recraft stands out by targeting professional graphic design.
What Sets Recraft Apart?
While popular tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E 3 focus on general AI art, Recraft specifically addresses the graphic design needs of brands and professionals. The startup offers a web platform where users can generate not only raster images (illustrations and 3D images) but also scalable vector graphics (logos and icons) exportable as SVG files for professional use.
Although there are few comparable solutions designed for graphic designers, research has highlighted emerging models, like COLE, that aim to support this segment.
Beyond text-based image generation, Recraft provides users with a suite of tools for controlling and modifying their creations. These include basic functions for adjusting size and style, as well as advanced features for customizing designs according to brand color palettes, layering options, and backgrounds. Users can also dictate the level of detail and blend styles, enabling the creation of consistent brand assets in minutes. With its launch just eight months ago, Recraft has attracted over 300,000 users. However, the number of paying customers remains uncertain, as the company offers both free and subscription tiers priced at $20 per month.
Advancing AI Design Capabilities
With a solid user base established, Recraft aims to elevate its platform through advanced machine learning. The funding will facilitate the training of a proprietary foundation model designed to enhance the quality and consistency of AI-generated graphic elements and sophisticated designs. Future updates will include features for visual referencing with brand imagery, achieving better style control, and creating graphic designs that integrate text and images for social media.
According to Dorogush, “Recraft was created to meet the needs of professional design, generating consistent images and high-quality vector illustrations for advertising and digital marketing. The development of our Foundation Model will enhance the caliber and uniformity of our AI-generated graphic designs.”
While the current model utilized by Recraft is not disclosed, developing its own could provide a competitive edge in the creative AI market. This innovation has the potential to attract businesses lacking the resources for extensive design teams, and may eventually reduce the need for traditional designers.
According to Precedence Research, the design-centric generative AI market is expected to surge from $412 million in 2022 to $7.75 billion by 2032. Competitors in this space include Typeset, Kittl, and Jasper, alongside established leaders like Canva and Adobe, who have integrated generative AI capabilities into their products.
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