‘The Market for AI Products Will Keep Expanding’ – Freepik CEO on Why Creative AI Is Just Getting Started
Generative AI took off by transforming creative work. Early tools that generated images, designs, and written content quickly reshaped how designers, marketers, and creators work. While AI has expanded into coding and customer service, its most visible impact remains in creative fields.
Billions are being invested, and adoption rates continue to climb. But questions are mounting: Is this growth sustainable? What will regulation mean for AI companies? And who truly benefits from these advances?
Joaquín Cuenca Abela, CEO of Freepik—one of the world’s most popular creative content platforms—shared insight on how AI is affecting creative workflows, the challenges of energy consumption and licensing, and the risks and opportunities ahead.
AI Growth: Bubble or Sustainable?
Cuenca Abela compares any potential AI market "pop" to the dot-com bubble of 2000: a short-term correction. He believes AI’s usefulness ensures continued expansion. “The market for AI products will keep expanding as we find more ways to integrate AI in our workflows,” he says. He points out that companies are generating billions in revenue from users who are seeing real benefits faster than any previous industry.
Energy Efficiency of AI Models
Energy consumption varies depending on models and hardware. A high-end B200 GPU can generate one high-quality image per second, consuming about 1 kW of power—roughly the energy a 60W lightbulb uses in 16 seconds. Notably, this is three times more efficient than just three months ago.
Video generation demands significantly more power, approximately 100 times the energy of a single image. On Freepik’s platform, video is mainly used for product shoots and marketing campaigns. In many cases, AI-generated videos replace the need for costly, travel-heavy production crews.
Licensing and Training Data Challenges
Training data quality is critical for generative AI. But licensing, lawsuits, and partnerships complicate the picture. Cuenca Abela explains that clear licensing is the biggest hurdle for enterprises deploying AI. Freepik offers end-to-end legal protection in their Enterprise plan, reassuring Fortune 500 clients about compliance.
There are three licensing approaches:
- Opt-in: Only using data with explicit permission (practically impossible at scale).
- Opt-out: Using data unless explicitly excluded, but requires disclosing training datasets.
- All-in: Using all available data without exclusions.
Europe’s AI Act favors the opt-out model with dataset disclosure requirements, causing pushback from companies unwilling to reveal their "secret sauce." In contrast, a recent California court ruling supports "fair use" for training AI on legitimately purchased books. Meanwhile, China’s models appear trained on vast diverse datasets without stringent restrictions.
Cuenca Abela predicts many companies may shut down AI operations in Europe rather than comply fully with disclosure laws. In the US, he hopes for legal consolidation and clearer rulings.
What’s Next for ChatGPT?
Freepik uses ChatGPT and other models rather than competing directly. Cuenca Abela highlights ChatGPT’s complexity as a user challenge—choosing the right model for each task isn’t straightforward.
He expects future versions to automatically select models and add video stream understanding, allowing AI to be active continuously. This would broaden AI’s usefulness across media types.
AGI’s Role in Creative AI
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) could have near-ubiquitous applications. Cuenca Abela sees many opportunities for AGI both within Freepik’s internal processes and in creative output.
Technologies to Watch
Coding agents excite him the most. These AI systems can improve themselves recursively, potentially unlocking unprecedented intelligence. While this progress is thrilling, it also raises concerns. But in a few years, personalized education, custom medicines, and other tailored solutions may become the norm.
For creative professionals looking to sharpen AI skills, exploring courses on prompt engineering or AI tools can be a practical next step. Platforms like Complete AI Training offer resources to stay ahead in this evolving landscape.
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