Adobe Inc. announced its Adobe AI Foundry, a service for businesses to create custom generative artificial intelligence models. The offering allows companies to train models on their own intellectual property and branding, using Adobe’s Firefly foundational models as a base.
The Firefly platform launched in 2023 with image-generation features and has since expanded to produce videos, audio, vector graphics, and 3D scenes. Firefly models were developed using exclusively licensed data, a design choice providing a safer option for businesses concerned with potential AI copyright infringement. Adobe states that by enhancing Firefly with corporate data, these customized models will also be safe for enterprise use.
Hannah Elsakr, Adobe’s Vice President of Generative AI Business Ventures, contrasted the Foundry’s method with common industry practices. She explained that many companies connect to a large-language model, such as OpenAI LP’s GPT or Google LLC’s Gemini, via an application programming interface (API). This allows them to retrain the model to generate content aligned with their preferences, a process known as “fine-tuning.” The procedure can be simple; for instance, OpenAI’s o3-mini model can be fine-tuned for reasoning tasks with a few prompts.
Adobe Firefly is now on iOS and Android with extra models
The Adobe AI Foundry employs a different method the company calls “deep tuning.” Elsakr described this as “surgically reopening” its Firefly models. The process involves integrating a business’s intellectual property, such as brand imagery, corporate videos, and specific shot styles, into the base Firefly models. The models are then retrained with this dedicated corporate data. The system is also designed to “over-weight” outputs, which emphasizes a company’s distinctive brand elements.
The custom-built models are designed to help companies manage marketing campaigns more efficiently. Elsakr provided an example where a business, after creating an advertisement, could use its proprietary model to adapt that content for different markets, languages, seasons, channels, and formats. This adaptation can be performed without starting the creative process from scratch for each version, resulting in a faster production timeline while maintaining a consistent brand identity across variations.
Adobe will implement a different pricing structure for the AI Foundry compared to its other products, charging customers on a pay-per-use basis. This diverges from its common seat-based licensing model. Elsakr also commented on the relationship between AI and human workers, stating the company does not see the technology as a replacement for human creators. The models are positioned as improved versions of existing Firefly tools to accelerate creative workflows.
“Humanity is at the center of creativity and that can’t be replaced,” Elsakr stated. She clarified the company’s perspective on the technology’s role: “Firefly and Foundry are simply the next step in providing you with the useful tools that improve your storytelling skills.”
