by Selena Hill
May 6, 2026
The newly minted AI platform held an exclusive demo for digital creators
UPSCALE DAY NYC didn’t feel like a typical tech demo; it felt more like a quiet revolution.
Held in lower Manhattan, the one-day event focused on combining creative advertising with emerging technology and included creators, technologists, and storytellers shaping modern brand storytelling. It was hosted by the company formerly known as Freepik, which announced last month that it has now become Magnific, a new AI-powered creative platform that allows users to generate images, videos, and audio using AI tools. Magnific also empowers users with professional workflows, collaborative tools, and a library of more than 250 million stock assets.
For a select group of creatives, Magnific’s “hub” revealed itself as more than a suite of tools. It was a reimagining of how ideas move—from thought to execution—in a world where speed, scale, and imagination are no longer limited by technical skill.
What is Magnific? (Formerly Freepik)
According to a press release shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE, the rebrand from Freepik to Magnific marks a decisive break from the company’s origins as a stock image platform. What began in 2010 as a search engine for design assets has evolved into a full-stack AI creative ecosystem spanning image generation, video, audio, 3D, and collaborative workflows. Today, Magnific states that it has more than one million paying subscribers, over 250 enterprise clients, and over $200 million in annual recurring revenue.
The Rise of the “No-Collar” Economy
In a statement, Magnific CEO Joaquín Cuenca Abela described the company’s shift as a pivot away from fragmented tools to a more integrated creative infrastructure. He also talked about the traditional creative roles vs the “no-collar economy.”
“The Industrial Revolution created the blue-collar economy. The digital revolution created the white-collar economy,” said Cuenca Abela in a press release. “The creatives, the dreamers, are about to become more powerful than anyone expected. That’s the no-collar economy. And it’s already underway.”
According to company data, 72% of new users identify as beginners, underscoring how AI is flattening the learning curve and democratizing access to high-level creative production.
At the event, that democratization was on full display. You didn’t need to be a trained designer or editor. You just needed vision—and the willingness to experiment. In this new paradigm, taste matters as much as technical ability — or maybe more.
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