Adobe announced Thursday that it has acquired Topaz Labs, an Emmy Award-winning AI company specializing in image and video enhancement.
The company plans to integrate Topaz’s tools into its Firefly AI studio, enterprise products, and Adobe Creative Cloud suite, and hopes to give creators using Firefly more control over the quality of their images and videos. Founded more than 20 years ago, Topaz developed its “Neurostream” technology that allows AI models to run locally on consumer devices, expanding the number of users who can use its image and video models.
The move is aimed at giving Adobe a competitive edge against competitors such as Canva and Picsart in AI-assisted editing of images and videos. Topaz models are used for upscaling, sharpening, stabilization, frame interpolation, and video restoration, among others.
“Adobe Firefly, Firefly Services, and Creative Cloud provide creators and brands with the industry’s best creative tools and top AI models, and we’re excited to work with Topaz Labs to build on the strong demand for these products,” David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s creativity and productivity business, said in a statement. “Creators are creating more content by combining the images and videos they capture and generate. With Topaz Labs, we give all creators the quality and control to easily produce that content at higher quality and resolution.”
Topaz Labs CEO Eric Yang, who leads Adobe’s Topaz team, said the move “drastically expands what filmmakers and creators everywhere can do.”
“Building technology that makes images and videos look their best has been our life’s work for more than 20 years,” Yang said in a statement. “We have always believed that technology should contribute to human creativity, not replace it, and Adobe is no different.”
Topaz works with creators such as Asteria Film Co. and documentarian Robert Stone, and last year won an Emmy Award in the AI Image/Video Enhancement for High-Quality TV Catalog Restoration category. Adobe expects the deal to close in the second half of this year, and Topaz’s products will be offered as standalone products.
