Freepik Stock Surges as Generative AI Hub Attracts 60 Million Monthly Visitors

Freepik, a company that started as a stock image provider fifteen years ago, has transformed into a leading generative AI hub, attracting over 60 million visitors monthly. This shift was not accidental but a result of the company's willingness to rethink its purpose and move beyond static images to create a fully AI-powered creative ecosystem. The company's CEO, Joaquín Cuenca Abela, highlighted that the emergence of generative AI allowed Freepik to expand its mission from providing pre-made content to creating unique, personalized content for each user.

Freepik's journey began with the simple premise of eliminating the frustration of staring at a blank page. Before AI, the platform provided millions of stock images and templates that creatives could use as starting points. With the advent of generative AI, Freepik now creates content on demand, offering a range of services including image and video generation, upscaling, animation, and more. This has broadened its audience beyond graphic designers to include photographers, filmmakers, architects, interior designers, and even casual users.

In the crowded AI space, Freepik stands out by focusing on workflow integration. Unlike other AI tools that specialize in one area, Freepik connects different open- and closed-source generative AI tools in one place. Its AI suite includes image generation with models like Mystic, Flux, Ideogram, and Google Imagen, custom LoRA training for consistent character and style generation, video generation using models like Google’s V2, Hunyuan, Luma, Kling, Hailuo, and Minimax, editing tools for inpainting, outpainting, filters, and seamless image expansion, audio generation, and SVG conversion capabilities for vector-based assets.

One of Freepik's biggest success stories is Magnific, its AI-powered upscaler, which went viral for its ability to enhance image details without distorting them. Mystic, another notable tool, provides results that can compete with state-of-the-art models like Ideogram or Midjourney. Freepik's success lies in its ability to provide quality results consistently, with a user-friendly interface that customers value.

The rise of AI-generated content has sparked controversy, particularly around copyright issues. Many artists argue that AI developers train their models using copyrighted works without permission. Cuenca Abela acknowledges the tension but argues that AI-generated images are not direct copies. He believes that society will ultimately favor AI's