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Magnific

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Magnific
FormerlyFreepik (2010–2026)
TypePrivate
IndustryGenerative artificial intelligence
Graphic design
Software
Founded2010
FoundersAlejandro Sánchez, Pablo Blanes, Joaquín Cuenca
Headquarters
Málaga
,
Spain
Number of locations
2
Area served
Worldwide
Key peopleJoaquín Cuenca Abela (CEO)
OwnerEQT
Number of employees
c. 400 (2026)[1]
Websitemagnific.com

Magnific (formerly Freepik) is a Spanish technology company that operates an online platform for generating and editing images, video and audio with generative artificial intelligence, together with a library of stock graphic resources.[1][2] The company was founded in Málaga in 2010 as Freepik, a search engine and later a marketplace for design assets. It began adding generative AI tools in 2022 and video generation in 2025, and adopted the Magnific name in April 2026, taking it from an image-upscaling startup it had acquired in 2024.[1][2] It is headquartered in Málaga and has an office in San Francisco.[3][1]

In 2020 the private equity firm EQT acquired a majority stake in the company.[4][5] In April 2026 the company reported about US$230 million in annual recurring revenue and more than one million paying subscribers.[1][6]

History

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Freepik was founded in 2010 by brothers Alejandro Sánchez and Pablo Blanes together with Joaquín Cuenca.[7][8] It began as a search engine for design resources and later expanded into producing and distributing its own stock content and subscription offerings.[7]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Freepik temporarily offered free access to resources for groups including healthcare workers and educators.[9]

In June 2022, Freepik acquired the UK-based stock video and audio platform Videvo.[10] In October 2022, Freepik acquired Iconfinder and Original Mockups.[11]

By 2023, Freepik had opened an office in San Francisco.[3] In October 2023, Freepik acquired the stock photography marketplace EyeEm after it filed for bankruptcy.[12]

In May 2024, Freepik acquired the Spanish AI image upscaling startup Magnific.[13]

Freepik began adding generative AI tools in 2022, after the release of DALL-E 2, and expanded into AI video generation in 2025. By April 2026 the company said video accounted for about half of its revenue.[1]

On 28 April 2026, Freepik relaunched under the name Magnific, bringing its stock library, generative tools and the upscaling service under a single brand.[1][2][14] At the time the company reported around US$230 million in annual recurring revenue, more than one million paying subscribers and about 400 employees, down from roughly 550 when its business was centred on stock images. It also described itself as profitable and "bootstrapped".[1][6]

Products

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The platform provides tools for generating and editing images, video and audio, image and video upscaling, 3D tools and a shared workspace for teams, alongside a stock library that the company said in 2026 held more than 250 million assets.[2][15] Rather than training its own frontier models, it gives subscribers access to third-party models, including Google's Veo and ByteDance's Seedance.[1][16] Fortune reported in 2026 that the platform had been used in advertising for Puma and Carl's Jr. and in the production of the Prime Video series House of David.[1]

In April 2025, Freepik released F Lite, an openly available text-to-image model developed with Fal.ai, which the company said was trained on commercially licensed, "safe-for-work" images.[17]

In May 2025, Freepik launched Freepik Enterprise, a plan aimed at large organizations that includes centralized management and legal-related features for AI-generated content, according to reporting in Spanish and technology media.[18][19]

In October 2026, Magnific released Magnific One, an image-generation model that interprets the prompt and reference images before generating, together with an optional "Brand Kit" feature that checks results against a customer's visual guidelines.[20]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Oreskovic, Alexei (2026-04-28). "How a Spanish startup pivoted to video AI and built a $230 million ARR business with no VC funding". Fortune. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lawrence, Cate (2026-04-28). "Freepik rebrands as Magnific, unifying its AI creative stack as enterprise and "no-collar" growth accelerates". Tech.eu. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  3. 1 2 DiFeliciantonio, Chase (2024-04-22). "Vibrant S.F. neighborhood gets a makeover from AI-generated paint jobs". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  4. ↑ "EQT acquires Freepik Company, the global leading freemium provider of digital visual content". EQT. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  5. ↑ "Málaga hace historia en el negocio digital: El fondo sueco EQT compra la mayor parte de la malagueña Freepik". Diario Sur (in Spanish). 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  6. 1 2 Stanciuc, Ana-Maria (2026-04-28). "Freepik rebrands as Magnific: a bootstrapped, profitable $230M ARR AI creative platform". The Next Web. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  7. 1 2 Velasco, Juan Jesús (2017-10-11). "Freepik, la web "made in Málaga" de contenidos para diseñadores que factura 1,2 millones de euros al mes". Xataka (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  8. ↑ "El desconocido 'Google' español de imágenes que se coló entre los que más crecen de Europa". El Español (in Spanish). 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  9. ↑ "Firma malagueña Freepik regala acceso a su material gráfico a docentes y sanitarios para campañas frente al coronavirus". Europa Press (in Spanish). 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  10. ↑ Triguero, Nuria (2022-06-21). "Spanish tech company Freepik snaps up a British business to become a major player in the video and audio content market". Sur in English. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  11. ↑ "EQT-owned Freepik picks up competitor Iconfinder and Original Mockups". Tech.eu. 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  12. ↑ "EyeEm, the photo marketplace, changes hands as Freepik picks it up out of bankruptcy". TechCrunch. 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  13. ↑ "Freepik acquires Spanish AI image upscaler Magnific". Tech.eu. 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  14. ↑ Flores, Chema (2026-04-28). "Adiós a Freepik: se transforma en Magnific para liderar desde Málaga la creación de contenido usando inteligencia artificial". El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  15. ↑ "Freepik cambia su marca: ahora es Magnific y tratará de liderar la economía 'No-Collar'". Europa Press (in Spanish). 2026-04-28. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  16. ↑ Erard, Gabriel (2026-04-28). "Freepik ahora es Magnific y se convierte en la herramienta definitiva para crear con IA". Hipertextual (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  17. ↑ Wiggers, Kyle (2025-04-29). "Freepik releases an 'open' AI image generator trained on licensed data". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  18. ↑ Vázquez, Ana Tere (2025-05-07). "La tecnológica malagueña Freepik lanza un servicio de IA generativa audiovisual para grandes corporaciones". Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  19. ↑ "Freepik launches new enterprise AI plan - but is it enough to tackle Adobe's dominance in the field?". TechRadar. 2025-05-12. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  20. ↑ Franzen, Carl (2026-10-08). "Magnific One launches to give teams an image generator that avoids the 'AI look' and automatically upholds their brand kit". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
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