Obello raises $9.5M to help creative teams ship on-brand work at scale
Obello, an AI graphic design platform built for brand consistency at speed, closed an $8.5M seed round led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Baukunst, AVV, and Preview Ventures. Total funding to date: $9.5M.
Founded by Ben Pham and Ollie Ralph-the team behind the acclaimed agency Character (acquired by Dentsu)-Obello is built from decades working with brands like Apple, DoorDash, Nike, Netflix, and Instagram. The mission is simple: help creatives produce high-volume, always-on-brand content without turning design into an assembly line.
Why this matters for creatives
Your content footprint keeps multiplying: paid, organic, retail media, lifecycle, partner channels, in-app surfaces. Each has its own specs, pacing, and constraints. Brand teams end up firefighting production while strategy and craft take a back seat.
Obello aims to clear that bottleneck. The platform turns brand rules into an AI system that can scale layouts, variants, and channels-so designers and marketers can spend more time on concept and less time wrangling sizes and tweaks.
GLAM: generative layout built for brand integrity
At the core is GLAM (Generative Layout Assistant Model), an AI engine for one-click resizing and adaptive design. It dynamically adjusts layouts, respects hierarchy, and keeps typography, color, and spacing consistent across formats.
- Upload brand assets, components, and rules
- Generate variants across sizes and channels in a single pass
- Use AI for text, imagery, motion, and workflow automation
- Output: ready-to-approve creative, not "starter templates"
While big platforms have tried auto-resizing, GLAM is focused on layout intelligence and brand systems-not just stretching frames.
Rethinking the HTML email builder
Obello also targets one of marketing's slowest tasks: emails. Instead of rigid, template-first editors, its AI builds responsive emails that adapt to device, campaign, and brand rules-without breaking layouts or brand voice.
Who's using it
- eBay
- REI
- ZenBusiness
- OSEA
- Ritual
- Whisker
- Fetch
- Stasher
- Thistle
- Output
- Qonta
Next up: creative agencies.
What the funding unlocks
- Enhanced AI image and video generation-render on-brand creative from a single prompt
- Deeper integrations with leading design and marketing tools
- Faster go-to-market across mid-market and enterprise teams
Quotes from the team and investors
"Brands are expected to show up everywhere while staying true to strict guidelines. This lets teams create and manage on-brand content at speed and scale-without sacrificing quality or creativity," said Ben Pham, co-founder and CEO.
"AI isn't here to replace creative teams-it amplifies their impact," said co-founder Ollie Ralph. "Spend less time on production. Spend more time on the work that moves the brand."
"Scaling across a fragmented marketing landscape without losing identity is the challenge. We believe Obello can define AI-driven generative design for high-growth brands," said James Joaquin, Co-Founder of Obvious Ventures.
Practical takeaways for creative leads
- Move from templates to rules: codify hierarchy, spacing, motion, and VO tone so AI can scale them.
- Centralize assets: maintain a single source of truth for components, usage, and approvals.
- Automate the repetitive: resize, localize, and version with AI; keep human attention on concept and craft.
- Measure what matters: track speed-to-publish, on-brand rate, and creative throughput-not just output volume.
- Protect the brand: give AI guardrails; keep final approvals with design leadership.
Learn more
Explore the platform and request access at obello.com.
Want to sharpen your AI workflow for creative and marketing work? Browse hands-on programs at Complete AI Training - Courses by Job.
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