Visual Electric
: How to use it, features, and the business problems it solves
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What is Visual Electric?
Visual Electric was a tool that let designers generate and edit AI images on an infinite canvas, but in October 2025 Perplexity acquired its team and the service was wound down over roughly 90 days (ending in early 2026). Users were offered data export and prorated refunds on their subscriptions, and the development team joined Perplexity. This page summarizes how the shutdown came about, the handling of data, and routes to alternative services (Leonardo.Ai, Krea, Recraft, Perplexity, and others).
Business problems it solves
About "Visual Electric"
Visual Electric has been discontinued
Visual Electric announced on October 2, 2025 that its team had been acquired by Perplexity, and it wound down gradually over roughly 90 days thereafter (the service ended in early 2026). The development team has joined Perplexity's "Agent Experiences" group. The official site no longer operates as a normal service, and new sign-ups are not possible. Data export options were provided for past users, and subscribers were offered prorated refunds.
This page remains available to inform those who previously searched for or used the service about the fact of the shutdown and how it came about, the handling of data, and alternative services. The description below reflects information as of the time the service was discontinued.
How the shutdown unfolded
- October 2, 2025: Perplexity announced it had acquired the Visual Electric team.
- The roughly 90 days after the acquisition: The product was gradually scaled back and shut down. Users could export their data, and subscribers received prorated refunds.
- Where the team went: They joined Perplexity's Agent Experiences group, reportedly to help strengthen the company's AI image and video generation and its agent experiences.
Behind the acquisition, reports suggest that Perplexity aimed to differentiate its own agent experiences amid a wave of AI content-generation tools launched by OpenAI, Google, Meta, and others.
Alternative services
If you are a designer looking to generate and edit images with AI, the following are worth considering.
- If you prioritize the quality and flexibility of generated images, Leonardo.Ai or Krea
- For consistent production in vector/design workflows, Recraft
- Note that Perplexity, the acquirer, is itself strengthening image and video generation and agent experiences.
(As of the time of discontinuation) What Visual Electric was
Visual Electric was a tool that let designers generate and edit AI images on an infinite canvas. Founded in 2022 by members who had come from Facebook, Dropbox, Apple, and Microsoft, it raised funding from Sequoia, BoxGroup, and Designer Fund. In its later stages it also supported video generation. A defining characteristic was its aim to deliver an experience of "creating visuals along the designer's workflow, rather than issuing instructions to an AI chat."
This page is a discontinuation notice based on publicly available information as of August 2026 (official announcements and various news reports). Please check each company's official announcements for the latest status.
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