Cloudflare acquired Human Native on January 15, 2026. The London startup had built a marketplace connecting content owners with AI companies seeking training data. The deal completes an 18-month infrastructure build, but the strategic question remains: is Cloudflare operating a toll booth that charges for passage, a warehouse that aggregatesContinue Reading
For years, we’ve been told that data is the new oil, and in the world of artificial intelligence, that metaphor feels almost understated. Every major AI breakthrough, from large language models to image synthesis engines, rests on vast amounts of labeled, real-world data. But unlike oil, data isn’t something youContinue Reading
A Market on the Brink The proliferation of generative AI has ushered in a transformative era in visual content creation. Capable of producing photorealistic images from text prompts in seconds, tools like Midjourney, DALL·E, and Adobe Firefly are reshaping how businesses and individuals source images. By August 2024, 39.5% ofContinue Reading
The announcement of the Shutterstock-Getty Images merger landed like a crack of a whip in the stillness of the desert. With the New Year barely underway and much of the world’s attention focused on global politics, the news caught everyone by surprise—though not for long. The stock photo industry hasContinue Reading
The Visual Economy: A Double-Edged Sword In the pulsating heart of today’s digital marketplace lies a universal truth: visuals are the currency of communication. A photo, a video, a graphic – these are not mere adornments but the lifeblood of sales and marketing. In the visual economy, the adage “aContinue Reading
The question often comes up at our Visual 1st conference and in our strategic client workshops: What criteria to apply when selecting potential targets for strategic acquisition? And, from the standpoint of startups seeking an exit, how to choose suitable potential acquirers? Examining recent trends can provide helpful insights onContinue Reading
On one side, an economy exponentially craving for content. On the other, a static, unprepared landscape ripe for disruption. The stage is set for a redistribution of value in a vibrant and volatile environment: Witness the formation of a new visual content ecosystem. It’s been a cascading series of announcements:Continue Reading
You walk through the supermarket aisle until you face various choices for the product you wish to eat. In the case of cereals, it can be 20 or more different options. You reach out and pick one, which you feel is the right decision based on a well-educated process. InContinue Reading
Shutterstock’s acquisition of 3D marketplace Turbo Squid is significant for a few reasons, some of which might not be obvious. The first and well-understood purchase trigger is that the microstock company is under pressure to expand its offering horizontally. There is a known ceiling to the paid licensed still imagesContinue Reading
Remember Framen? This German startup’s CEO, Dimitri Gärtner, did a Show & Tell presentation at Visual 1st two years ago, showing his company’s digital frame photo viewing solutions. To my surprise, I learned a few days before Christmas that a company no less than Axel Springer had just acquired theContinue Reading