Investing in Modyfi
If Figma & Adobe Photoshop had a 👶
An important fact to remember when evaluating great founders and their ideas is that the creation of new, innovative software is rarely developed and executed by the incumbents or insiders - it executed by the outsiders.Â
Adobe (an incumbent in its own right) has a long history of building products, tools, and services that serve a generous range of users. They’ve dominated the era of design by arming the modern day designer/creator with the tools needed to express themselves and create beautiful content. For some, Adobe’s suite of design tools have served as a natural extension of the creator. However, as we enter into a new era of creation and design it’s important that the tools we use to recreate the world around us, is a reflection of the modern day workflow, that of collaboration & community. That’s why I’m pleased to announce my investment in Modyfi, next-generation AI-powered image editor.
Modyfi inspires creatives by removing the mundane. Making teamwork easy and the creation of better images faster than ever. With over 3 billion images shared online daily, the tools we use to create are more important than ever. However, 68% of content creators find the process of collaborating and communicating with others on creative projects broken: sharing work, collecting feedback, and managing assets is overwhelming and time-consuming.
The tools need to catch up with the ecosystem. Modyfi brings the entire creative image editing process into one browser-based experience. Modyfi will handle all workflows, from creative design to version control to image repository. With the intention of investing heavily into community, Modyfi plans to launch an API that allows any creator or company to create a plugin for them to build/create faster. Of the 25M users in the space, roughy more than 17M are looking for a new and fresh alternative like Modyfi. Check out a sneak peak below:
Modyfi is creativity unleashed. We are living in a time where anyone can be a content creator. The creator economy market is estimated to be $104 billion in 2022. Content creation is no longer confined within the realm of the full-time professional. People care about the stuff they put out into the world. The ability to design images that the world interacts with daily (Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok, etc.) is no longer an afterthought. Following the footsteps of Figma, Modyfi plans to disrupt Adobe’s core professional market and usher in a new era of real-time collaboration.
Adobe can’t ignore what’s coming. There’s a new wave of consumers who simply want easy-to-use design software. Figma and Canva are prime examples of the unbundling that’s happening in the market (*Adobe to acquire Figma*).
Traditionally, powerful image editing software resided on our desktops, but with the advent of web technologies, a new era has dawned. Enter WebGL - the technology that’s revolutionized browser-based image editing. The potential of WebGL is virtually limitless, transforming browser-based software into a dynamic canvas for artistic expression. Modyfi will do for bitmaps what Figma did for vectors.
When I first came across, Modyfi, it was just days before Adobe had announced its $20B acquisition of Figma. Ironic timing right? However, soon after meeting Modyfi’s CEO and co-founder, Joe Burffit, I realized that there had been little change or improvement to the design tools in market for image editing. Joe has spent the last 15 years building consumer products at companies like Quibi, Snap, and Amazon. He was ready for a new image editing experience and so he decided to go out and build it. Modyfi has got thousands of people using their product right now and hundreds of companies like Snapchat, Reddit, Stripe, Spotify — the Nvidia creative team are even using it.
I’m very happy to have invested in Modyfi’s seed round, alongside NEA, Craft Ventures, General Catalyst, and some amazing angels.