In the past, marketers typically depended on designers to create visuals and videos for tailored online advertising initiatives. However, in late 2024, the seven-year-old startup Hightouch revolutionised this process by launching an AI-driven platform. This service enables marketing professionals to independently craft custom branded content for companies such as Domino’s, Chime, PetSmart, and Spotify, eliminating the need for design teams or advertising agencies.
The launch of this AI product has proven highly successful, contributing an impressive $70 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) within just 20 months, which brought Hightouch’s total ARR to $100 million, according to TechCrunch. Co-CEO Kashish Gupta highlighted that prior to the advent of generative AI, creating high-quality consumer-level graphics was a challenge for those lacking extensive design expertise. Gupta co-leads the company with Tejas Manohar, a former engineering manager at Segment, a customer data platform that Twilio acquired in 2020 for $3.2 billion.
Hightouch distinguishes itself by transcending the capabilities of standard AI models. Many brands previously attempted to produce ad campaigns through broad foundational AI frameworks, akin to those that support chatbots. Unfortunately, the resulting visuals often failed to align with brand identity, lacking knowledge of specific nuances such as colour schemes, fonts, tone, and even particular products. Gupta explained that these foundational models could generate imaginary products, which are unsuitable for advertisements.
To ensure adherence to brand guidelines, Hightouch integrates directly with its clients’ established creative resources, including well-known design platforms like Figma, photo libraries, and content management systems (CMS). By accessing these assets, the platform gains a deep understanding of a company’s unique brand identity. Subsequently, Hightouch’s AI agents leverage these materials alongside consumer insights to autonomously help marketers devise personalised ad campaigns without the delays associated with traditional design processes.
The objective is to generate visuals and videos that emulate the quality of professional designs, steering clear of the common “generic” appearances often associated with AI-generated content. For instance, Gupta noted that Domino’s would never generate a digital pizza from scratch but would instead utilise existing images of pizzas and incorporate them into ads with AI-generated backgrounds or other elements.
Currently, Hightouch employs around 380 people and achieved a valuation of $1.2 billion in February 2025 following an $80 million Series C funding round led by Sapphire Ventures.
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