Easel: The AI-Powered Social App Revolutionizing Personal Communication
Introducing Easel: Where Generative AI Meets Social Interaction
Easel, a startup founded by former Snap employees Rajan Vaish and Sven Kratz, is transforming the way we communicate through its innovative app that combines generative AI and social trends. The app allows users to create personalized images of themselves and their friends in various scenarios, directly from their favorite iMessage conversations.
Snap’s Innovative Legacy: From AR Lenses to Virtual Avatars
Snap has been a trailblazer in the social media landscape, introducing groundbreaking features like AR lenses and virtual avatars long before they became mainstream. The company’s acquisition of Bitmoji in 2016 paved the way for the widespread adoption of virtual avatars as a fun and creative way to express oneself, as seen in iMessage’s Memojis and Meta’s avatars.
From Snap to Startup: The Birth of Easel
Vaish and Kratz, who previously worked on futuristic projects in Snap’s research team, found themselves at a crossroads when the team was dissolved during the company’s layoffs in 2022. Undeterred, they seized the opportunity to continue innovating outside of Snap, leading to the creation of Easel.
Personalized AI-Generated Stickers: Bringing Your Conversations to Life
Easel harnesses the power of generative AI, specifically Stable Diffusion‘s technology, to create personalized stickers featuring users’ faces in various settings and activities. By capturing a few seconds of your face, Easel creates a personal AI model that generates stickers tailored to your likeness. The result is a more engaging and immersive communication experience compared to generic AI-generated images.
Seamless Integration with iMessage: Enhancing Your Conversations
One of Easel’s key strengths is its seamless integration with the native iOS Messages app, ensuring a smooth user experience without the need to switch platforms or create a new social graph. Sending an Easel sticker is as simple as sharing an image via iMessage, and recipients can easily install the app and remix the stickers, fostering a sense of connection and virality reminiscent of Bitmoji’s shared scenes.
Image Credits: Easel
Customization and Inspiration: Easel’s Public Feed
Easel takes personalization a step further by allowing users to create highly customized stickers that go beyond the limitations of Bitmoji. With the power of generative AI, users can design unique background scenes, locations, and scenarios for their avatars. Additionally, the app’s public feed serves as a source of inspiration, where users can discover and remix stickers shared by others, creating a sense of community and seasonality within the app.
Funding and Future Prospects
Easel has already secured $2.65 million in funding from notable investors such as Unusual Ventures, f7 Ventures, Corazon Capital, and angel investors, including Stanford University professors. As the app continues to gain traction, it aims to cater to two unique use cases: providing a visual communication format for those who are not comfortable sharing selfies and enabling users to stay in the moment without the need to capture it in real-time.
With its innovative approach to personal communication and the backing of experienced founders and investors, Easel is poised to make a significant impact on the way we interact and express ourselves through social media.
4 Comments
Bitmojis step aside; it’s time for the AI revolution to bring our digital doubles to life!
Bitmojis were just the beginning, brace yourselves for AI’s next masterpiece!
AI’s taking over, and now they’re after our Bitmojis! Watch out, world!
Grace Turner: Just when you thought your digital avatar was safe, here comes AI ready to give it a high-tech makeover!