AI won't replace professional photo-editing tools: Affinity CEO

Affinity CEO Ashley Hewson said AI will boost basic photo editing, but pros will still rely on specialised tools. He said India user growth is six times since the October 29 launch

Even as artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) roll out basic photo-editing tools that have expanded the market, professional workflows will continue to depend on specialised, high-precision software, said Ashley Hewson, chief executive officer (CEO) of Affinity.

 

Professional design and image-editing software company Affinity, over the next three to five years, aims to grow the app and the product’s adoption nearly 20 times compared to the present, Hewson said.

 

“There are certain things that AI is really good at, even in photo editing, such as making quick, accurate selections on specific images from a whole host of images. With tools like Affinity and Canva, you also get depth selection and correct lighting,” the Affinity CEO added.

   

Highlighting the India growth story of Affinity, he said since the launch of the company’s latest app on October 29, there has been an influx of new Indian customers. “The number of domestic users on the platform has grown six times compared to all the previous growth combined,” he said.

 

“The adoption and the drive in India have been really interesting and exciting for us. Our approach to India is to really make sure that it (the app) is localised end-to-end for the market. So, we support all Indian languages and the AI tools are available in local languages,” Hewson said, adding that the Indian market was important both for Affinity and Canva.

 

In India, the fourth-largest market globally, Affinity has a community of developers and freelancers, and is looking to invest more in the country to further grow the app, Hewson said.

 

Canva, the global image and video-editing tool, acquired Affinity in 2024.

 

Founded in 1987, Affinity was initially called Serif and was focused on developing photo-editing, graphics, and web-design tools and products. In 2010, the company pivoted to create an all-new suite of tools and products to help users with professional graphic design, photo editing, and layout.

 

The acquisition by Canva in 2024 also helped the company accelerate its vision of combining the various offerings across its apps into a single umbrella app. The new app that was launched in October combines photo-editing capabilities with vector design layouts.

 

Since the Canva acquisition, the Affinity app, which is now free for all users worldwide, saw three million downloads in the first month, Hewson said, adding that the acquisition has also helped the company combine powers and become a more dominant force in this field, with more than 260 million active users globally.