In the midst of the controversy surrounding AI potentially exploiting visual artists, a new London-based startup, Exactly.ai, aims to help artists reclaim control over their work. By using generative AI, Exactly.ai ensures artists retain legal ownership of their creations while enabling them to reproduce their designs more efficiently and on a larger scale. Recently, the company secured $4.3 million in seed funding, led by Speedinvest, with contributions from InReach Ventures, Cornerstone VC, GuruDev Capital, and several angel investors. The startup has already attracted 40,000 registered users.
Founded in 2022 by Tonia Samsonova, a former journalist who previously sold her Q&A platform, The Question, to the Russian search engine Yandex, Exactly.ai empowers artists, illustrators, and people with drawing skills to train AI on their own artwork. This personalized algorithm generates images in their unique style, and both the algorithm and its outputs belong entirely to the artistsThe platform is designed to help artists scale their work and facilitate sales or licensing to clients such as media outlets and advertising agencies. Given the global generative AI market’s projected value of $668 billion by 2030, Exactly.ai is positioned to capture a segment of this expanding market.
Samsonova, reflecting on her own needs as a client, said she saw a demand for high-quality images that top creators were often too busy to fulfill. She believes Exactly.ai allows clients to access the world’s best talent by providing a tool that enhances the artists’ productivity without compromising quality.Exactly.ai competes with platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, where artists currently seek to scale their output. The startup generates revenue by charging illustrators a subscription fee, which allows them to meet higher demand and significantly increase their income.
The company utilizes a foundational model from Picsart, augmented by its own algorithm that comprehends individual artistic styles and produces corresponding images. Samsonova highlighted that their most valuable data comes from the 40,000 artists who have uploaded millions of images to the platform. This extensive dataset helps improve the quality across all styles and genres. Additionally, the platform includes over a million pieces of CC0-licensed open art data from museums.
Julian Blessin, a partner at Speedinvest, stated, “Exactly.ai represents a groundbreaking step forward for the creative arts sector. Tonia and her team have developed a platform that enables artists to embrace generative AI as a partner in their creative process.” In summary, Exactly.ai’s innovative approach not only preserves artists’ rights but also amplifies their ability to monetize their creative skills, making it a promising player in the burgeoning generative AI market.
