Freepik announces acquisition of Magnific

Freepik announced its acquisition of AI-image upscaler Magnific. The acquisition is Freepik’s biggest to date – it acquired EyeEm (Germany) last year, and Videvo (UK), Original Mockups (Colombia), and Iconfinder (Denmark) in 2022, the company said. Terms weren’t disclosed.

The founders of Magnific, Javi López and Emilio Nicolás, will continue to focus on their own AI innovation, testing and developing new ideas. Although Magnific will operate as an independent business – a subsidiary of Freepik, its new parent company, both co-founders will join Freepik to work alongside Omar Pera, the VP of Freepik Labs (Freepik’s AI innovation team) who is leading Freepik’s endeavor to roll out groundbreaking solutions for users, the company said.

“I’ve long been an admirer of Javi and Emilio, the AI knowledge they have and the community they’ve built, said Joaquin Cuenca Abela, CEO, Freepik. “In fact, Javi has been part of Freepik’s AI partners program for some time, as well as a friend, giving feedback on our AI tools when they’re in beta. Not only will Magnific’s AI complement our suite of AI tools, but having Javi and Emilio’s experience and vision on the team will elevate our AI offering – this is central to the future of Freepik and our global expansion. ”

Launched just five months ago in Murcia, Spain, Magnific has opened up an entirely new category of tools: “reimagined upscaling”, according to Freepik. It is an upscaler and enhancer that drastically enhances the quality and resolution of images but also allows users to take control by creating new details. Low-resolution images can be improved and developed creatively for a range of use cases and for any industry. This includes professional use – even billboards, video games, photo editing, architecture, interior design, matte painting and animated film production. Magnific has been used even by professional VFX for certain sequences in films currently in production. Magnific significantly improves workflows for users, with images that can be enhanced in seconds. The real-time enhancing capabilities are much faster than competitors – what used to take days to achieve in Adobe’s Photoshop can now be done in seconds. Furthermore, with Magnific’s new Style Transfer, users can now transform any image, controlling the amount of style transferred and the structural integrity.