PicsArt

PicsArt was founded in November 2011 by Armenian entrepreneur Hovhannes Avoyan, and Armenian programmers Artavazd Mehrabyan and Mikayel Vardanyan.[3] Its founders developed the first Picsart application as a stand-alone tool to help people alter a photo image on their phone, and additional capabilities were added over time.[4] The first PicsArt app launched in November 2011 on Android devices.[5]

In January 2013, PicsArt for iOS was released for the iPhone.[5] In May, it was released for the iPad.[6] In November, PicsArt had reached 90 million installs and had nearly 25 million monthly active users. In late 2013, PicsArt photo editor became available for Windows Phone.[7]

In January 2014, PicsArt became available on devices supporting Windows 8.[8]

By April 2015, the company reportedly had seen 250 million downloads for its iOS and Android apps, and had 60 million monthly active users.[9]

In 2016 PicsArt reached 75 million monthly active users.[10]

In 2017, PicsArt launched Remix Chat, a messaging system where users can share images directly or in groups and edit them collectively with friends.[11] The company also launched a feature to let its user community create and share custom stickers for free. PicsArt also announced that it reached 90 million monthly active users.[12] In July, Russian supermodel and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova joined PicsArt to help increase social engagement and activism within the PicsArt photo community.[13] In October, the company reached 100 million monthly active users and began announcing partnerships with major consumer brands and celebrities.[14]

In March 2019, PicsArt reached 130 million monthly active users.[15] Also in 2019, the company was ranked by app analytics company Sensor Tower as the #4 top grossing social photo and video editing app, after Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.[16]

In January 2020, the company launched an artificial intelligence lab in conjunction with the American University of Armenia.[17] The facility employed faculty and students to conduct research in machine learning and computer vision. In July, PicsArt acquired motion-based video effects company D'efekt, its first acquisition.[18] Also in July, the company reported over 1 billion app downloads to date.[19]

PicsArt develops four mobile apps, and a set of web browser tools for editing videos and photos. The app and website tools support social networking activities.

The four apps include:

• PicsArt Photo & Video Editor - a photo and video editing app with tools to add filters and various effects, with social network integration. The app is free to use and offers in-app purchases of stickers and other graphic elements.[20]
• PicsArt Animator - an animation app allowing the creation of cartoon videos, GIFS and other animation.[21]
• PicsArt Color - a drawing and painting app[22]
• PicsArt GIF & Sticker Maker - an animated GIF and sticker generator[12]

The apps are available on iOS, Android, and Windows mobile devices.[23]

PicsArt's web browser tools for PCs have the same features as the PicsArt Photo & Video app, but are designed for web browsers on PCs running Windows 8.1 or higher.[24]

Built-in social networking features with the apps and website tools allow users to comment, favorite, and follow others using the tools.[20]

PicsArt is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and operates a second office in Yerevan, Armenia.[25] The company has additional offices in Beijing, Moscow, Tokyo and Los Angeles.[25] As of March 2019, the company reported that 70 percent of its 360 employees worked in engineering and product development, and half of those employees are female.[14]

As of September 2020, the company has received $65 million in venture funding from Sequoia Capital, Insight Venture Partners, and others.[26][27][28][9][29]