Facet Raises $13M for Revolutionary Photo Editing

Facet: An AI-Powered Revolution in Photo Editing

Essentially, Facet has developed a photo editing application leveraging artificial intelligence, accessible through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). This capability facilitates remarkably efficient batch photo editing, blending elements reminiscent of Snapchat’s filters, Adobe Lightroom’s batch processing, Photoshop’s versatility, and the collaborative features found in platforms like Figma.

Furthermore, the tool introduces functionalities previously unseen within the photo editing landscape. Facet recently secured $13 million in funding led by Two Sigma Ventures, with additional investment from Accel, Basis Set Ventures, Slow Ventures, and South Park Commons.

A Photographer's Perspective

My interest in photography extends beyond the casual; I previously worked as a professional photographer and have authored approximately twenty books on the subject. When Facet contacted me regarding a novel development in photo editing, my initial excitement was quickly followed by considerable perplexity.

Even after an extensive discussion with the company’s founders and investors, fully grasping the tool’s capabilities and target audience proved challenging.

Hands-On Experience Reveals Clarity

A practical demonstration of the tool provided significant clarity. I uploaded a collection of dance photographs captured during a Lindy by the Lake event in Oakland, allowing Facet to process them.

The web-based editor presents a notably steep learning curve, almost a learning barrier, but I rapidly achieved editing results that would have been difficult, if not impossible, to replicate in Photoshop.

AI-Driven Editing Capabilities

I created a filter with the instruction: “Identify the background, then apply a blur and desaturation effect.” While the foreground/background detection wasn’t flawless across all images, the resulting enhancement – making photos visually stand out – was exceptionally fast, eliminating the need for individual editing within a traditional photo editing program.

The image on the left demonstrates Facet’s automatic background desaturation and blurring. The original is shown on the right. The outcome isn’t perfect, but Facet processed 200 photos in minutes – a remarkable achievement in AI image manipulation. Photos by Haje Kamps, editing by Facet’s AI.

Facet is particularly well-suited for commercial image editing, where large volumes of photos require preparation and presentation. However, mirroring Photoshop’s adaptability, its applications are limited only by the user’s imagination.

Automated Preset Creation and Brand Consistency

“As you refine an image and apply modifications, we analyze each edit and determine how to replicate those changes across a larger image library, automatically generating your presets. This is incredibly valuable for maintaining brand consistency throughout a campaign, ensuring all product photographs are uniform,” explains Joe Reisinger, CEO and co-founder of Facet.

“For instance, consider Spotify. You’ve likely noticed their signature duotone effect on album covers. We can recreate this effect and provide a reusable image editing pipeline via an API endpoint, enabling the rapid processing of thousands of photos.”

Scalability and API Access

The company’s tools for selection and filtering are both robust and highly scalable. While a consumer-level platform exists for hobbyist photographers, Facet truly excels when utilized by creative software developers through its APIs.

“Rather than attempting to retrofit outdated, print-focused software for the internet era, we are constructing tools that creatives require from the ground up, utilizing a content-aware image editing platform,” Reisinger stated.

An example of the Facet user interface. I instructed the tool to desaturate and blur backgrounds. The results are impressive when successful, a feature I’ve long desired in Lightroom. However, imperfections exist (as seen in the middle two photos), and images can be downloaded as layered Photoshop files for refinement, significantly reducing overall editing time. Image: Screenshot from the Facet tool

Collaboration and Style Transfer

“A key benefit of Facet is its support for asynchronous collaboration. A designer can establish a photographic style, and others can apply that style to numerous images without manual editing of each one. The visual aesthetic of a photo can be encoded programmatically and replicated across multiple images,” commented Dan Abelon, partner at Two Sigma Ventures, the lead investor in Facet’s funding round.

“This extends to a community aspect – if you admire someone’s style, you can apply it to your own images, fostering a dynamic environment of real-time collaboration.”

Impact and Future Direction

“This venture is not solely about financial gain. Facet is poised to significantly impact the creative community and the broader web. They demonstrate a commitment to leaving a lasting mark, a quality that strongly resonated with us,” Abelon added.

The company intends to utilize its increased funding to pursue standard post-Series A objectives: expanding the team, increasing market penetration, and developing a comprehensive go-to-market strategy. A free trial is available on the Facet website, with subscription plans starting at $24 per month for professional users and $50 per month for teams requiring API access.