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GoPro & Starman Optical. Acquisition.
Breaking news when drafting this issue: GoPro Inc has agreed to merge with optical-photonics company Starman Optical in a $285M recapitalization deal that will see Starman acquire a 90% stake in the combined business.
The combined company will remain publicly listed and plans to expand beyond consumer cameras into AI data-center infrastructure, government, defense and aerospace applications, leveraging Starman's U.S.-made optical transceivers.
Shares of GoPro were up 47% on Tuesday morning — but… GoPro's highest historical valuation was over $13 billion shortly after its IPO in late 2014, driven by its dominance at that time as the pioneer & market leader in the action camera market, and before Insta360 and DJI started stepping on its toes, while the action cam market turned out not as huge as everyone thought. Ouch!
Fujifilm North America & Google Photos. Expanding Photos Print Store Partnership.
Visual 1st Platinum Sponsor Fujifilm North America Corporation has launched the Fujifilm for Google Photos Print Store, expanding its existing partnership with Google Photos.
Under the agreement, Fujifilm will take a leading role in operating Google Photos’ integrated print storefront, including storefront management, customer support, lifecycle marketing, and an expanded product catalog. Google Photos users can access the co-branded store directly from the app and link their photo libraries, avoiding the need to manually upload images.
The updated platform offers a wider selection of print formats, home décor, frames, and customized gift products. It also uses Google Photos’ technology to surface relevant images and recommend personalized print opportunities.
Google. Announcing Google Pics, a New Creative Platform Targeting DIY Creators.
Google is launching Google Pics, an AI-first image creation and editing tool positioned as a prompt-driven alternative to Canva and Adobe Express.
Rather than building designs manually from templates and assets, users can describe what they want to create using Google’s Nano Banana image model.
Features include AI editing capabilities to isolate and transform objects, alter or translate text within images, and generate multiple image variations for comparison. Google Pics also supports collaborative editing.
The product will become available in the coming weeks to most Google Workspace customers and subscribers to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra. It will initially be integrated into Google Docs and Slides, with Google Drive support planned for later.
Retro. Raises $21M+ for Private Photo Sharing.
Retro, the private photo-sharing app founded by former Instagram product engineers Nathan Sharp and Ryan Olson, has raised more than $21M in Series A funding, according to an SEC filing. PitchBook reportedly values the company at more than $100M.
The app lets people share weekly photo updates privately with friends and family, create shared albums, view and share recaps, and “rewind” through earlier photo memories. Retro positions itself as an alternative to ad-driven social networks, offering subscriptions for premium features rather than relying on advertising.
Paid features include support for video, GIF, and sticker comments; additional visual styles; unlimited history; and exclusive app icons.
The company’s momentum will be an especially relevant backdrop for our Visual 1st panel, Visuals for Connection — Transforming Shared Media into Social Glue, which will explore how private, meaningful media sharing is reshaping social engagement.
Perfectly Clear. Launching API Playground.
Perfectly Clear has launched API Playground, a testing environment where customers can experiment with the company’s latest AI-powered imaging technologies and provide feedback.
The collection includes tools such as AI Art, AI Extend, Background Blur, Magic Eraser, and Face Swap.
API Playground also includes a centralized library that organizes each test, enabling customers to review results in one place.
Bitmovin. Vertical Video Repurposing.
Video technology developer Bitmovin has introduced TaleCut, an AI-powered editor designed to turn long-form, widescreen video into short-form vertical clips.
Key features
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AI scene and speaker analysis: Automatically identifies speakers and key moments to help create engaging short-form clips from longer video.
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Smart 9:16 reframing: Intelligently crops footage and tracks subjects with smooth pan movements to keep the primary action centered in a vertical frame.
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Prompt-driven extraction: Lets users generate targeted 9:16 clips through natural-language prompts.
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