ESTsoft (CEO Chung Sang-won), a company specializing in AI services, announced on the 28th that it has signed a full agreement with global stock content company Getty Images Korea (CEO Park Gun-won) for an AI human image service, and launched the 'AI Portrait Gallery'.
Under the agreement, the two companies will begin selling portrait images produced with ESTsoft's AI technology in earnest through 'Getty Image Bank', which Getty Images Korea operates to distribute and sell images at home and abroad.
To that end the two companies have built a new 'AI Portrait Gallery' on Getty Image Bank and placed it in the 'medical, cosmetic surgery and beauty' category, which consistently ranks among the platform's top sellers.
The AI human images in the AI Portrait Gallery were created by taking Getty Images Korea's stock images and reproducing them with ESTsoft's AI Persona portrait generation technology as images that match current trends while achieving high sales rates.
The two companies produced the AI human images optimized for the distribution channel, following six months of strategic discussion. Market response has been positive: in a blind test before launch, some AI human images recorded sales rates up to 700% higher than existing stock images.
The two companies plan to update the images quarterly, diversifying hairstyles and clothing, with overseas sales of AI human images actively in view.
Getty Images Korea CEO Park Gun-won said: "Our collaboration with ESTsoft, which holds world-class AI human technology, has borne fruit," adding, "Because the AI Portrait Gallery's service is free of copyright and portrait rights concerns, we expect it to be used widely across industries — tourism and broadcasting as well as medical, cosmetic surgery and beauty — and we look forward to the response overseas."
ESTsoft CEO Chung Sang-won said: "We are delighted that our successful collaboration with global stock image company Getty Images Korea lets us bring ESTsoft's AI human technology to Korea's image industry and test the potential of overseas markets with a global operator," adding, "We plan to keep introducing varied business models built on AI humans, on the strength of a strategic partnership that is now stronger still."
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on AI image generation and distribution at home and abroad in November last year, and have continued collaborating since, including a moving photo exhibition using well-known IP in January this year.