Adobe to acquire Topaz Labs
Topaz Labs’ latest promo for its AI models for image enhancement and upscaling. Adobe has just announced that it plans to acquire to company to expand the range of models it offers.
Adobe has announced that it plans to acquire AI image and video enhancement specialist Topaz Labs.
The acquisition will “expand [Adobe’s] video and image model offerings with state-of-the-art AI enhancement models in Adobe Firefly, Firefly Services and Creative Cloud apps”.
Topaz Labs products, which include AI image upscaler Gigapixel and image enhancement tools Topaz Photo and Topaz Video, will remain available as standalone offerings.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval, but is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Why is Topaz Labs important in the CG industry?
Topaz Labs was one of the first companies to specialize in AI-based image-processing tools.
Founded in the mid-2000s, it began as a Photoshop plugin developer, before switching focus to standalone AI-based image and video processing software the following decade.
By 2025, the company had millions of users and an annual revenue of $48 million, winning a technical Emmy for the way its technology is used in the restoration of archive TV recordings.
Although its core market is photography and video production, its products are also used in CG work, with some artists using its image upscaling products like Gigapixel to speed up workflow, by rendering 3D images or animation at a lower resolution, then upscaling the raw renders.
You can find a good summary of how the company evolved in this this 2025 interview with CEO Eric Yang from the Crazy Stupid Tech newsletter.
How good a fit is Adobe for Topaz Labs?
Adobe and Topaz Labs seems like natural bedfellows, in terms of both technologies and business practices.
Topaz Labs had already begun to move to an Adobe-style business model, taking its products subscription-only last year.
Although it still offers traditional desktop software, it has increasingly begun to productize its technology via web apps, as Adobe has done with Firefly.
When Adobe began making third-party AI models available in its products last year, Topaz Labs was one of its early partners.
Generative Upscale, introduced in Photoshop 27.0 last year, offers Topaz Labs’ Bloom and Gigapixel models as alternatives to its native Firefly upscaler.
In the Crazy Stupid Tech interview, Yang was asked why Topaz Labs’ upscaling technology outperformed Adobe’s, replying: “Because it is our lifeblood and they don’t depend on it.”
At the time of writing, five Topaz Labs AI models are available in Adobe products, including Firefly features like Firefly Boards and the experimental Firefly Assistant.
Why does Adobe want to acquire Topaz Labs?
The acquisition of Topaz Labs will enable Adobe to further “expand its video and image model offerings” across Firefly, Firefly Services and its Creative Cloud apps.
Yesterday’s announcement also cites NeuroStream, Topaz Labs’ GPU memory optimization technology, for running larger AI models locally on consumer hardware.
According to Adobe, NeuroStream will position it to “tap into a growing opportunity for efficient, on-device AI video”.
What does the deal mean for users of Topaz Labs’ products?
Although the announcement only touches on future of Topaz Labs’ products in general terms, it suggests that little will change in the short term.
Topaz Labs products will “remain available as standalone offerings through the company’s website”, and “customers of all sizes can expect continued support and investment”.
Eric Yang will move to Adobe and “continue to lead the Topaz Labs team”.
There’s no word on whether prices – you can find current subscription pricing in this story – will change.
We’ve contacted Adobe to see if we can get any more details, and will update if we hear back.
Read Adobe’s announcement that it intends to acquire Topaz Labs
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