Yair Adato is chief executive officer and co-founder of Bria AI, a company applying generative artificial intelligence to visual communication [1]. He describes Bria's platform as allowing communicators, including marketers, designers and business users, to generate or modify images for commercial purposes without requiring a camera or a professional designer, positioning the product as a way to close the gap between generic stock imagery and the precise visual adjustments a given business task requires [2]. He traces this focus to his doctoral training in computer vision, framing Bria's technology as an extension of that field into practical, enterprise-facing image generation and editing [2].
Adato has emphasized copyright and privacy compliance as a defining feature of Bria's approach, stating that the company trains its models exclusively on fully licensed data rather than material scraped from the internet, and that it maintains licensing agreements with major stock image providers such as Getty Images, iStock and Depositphotos [3]. He describes an internal "attribution engine" that traces which licensed images most influenced a given generated output and directs royalty payments accordingly, which he presents as a mechanism for sharing revenue with data owners [3]. He also states that the platform is designed to prevent the creation of deepfakes or unauthorized depictions of celebrities, a restriction he ties to broader concerns about the misuse of photorealistic image generation [2] [3].
In discussing industry practice, Adato has criticized companies that trained models on scraped or unlicensed content, citing lawsuits and public disputes, including the case of a voice actor's dispute with OpenAI over a synthetic voice, as evidence of a broader reckoning he compares to the historical shift in the music industry from unlicensed file-sharing to licensed streaming services such as Spotify [3]. He argues that generative AI will follow a similar trajectory toward licensing-based business models and that Bria's data practices anticipate this shift [3]. He positions Bria as an infrastructure or "picks and shovels" provider for large enterprises, citing an engagement with Publicis as an example of a client using Bria's application programming interface to build internal tools for advertising, marketing and augmented reality production, and states that the company plans to extend its licensed-data approach beyond still images into video, audio and three-dimensional assets [3].
On the subject of AI safety more broadly, Adato has described the technology as an extremely powerful tool whose risks must be actively managed rather than avoided, drawing an analogy between his own reluctance to let his daughters use TikTok and his caution about consumer-facing image manipulation tools that could enable bullying or abuse [2] [3]. He argues that AI-driven automation will shift the nature of jobs rather than eliminate them outright, comparing the transition to earlier technological disruptions such as the automobile's effect on employment tied to horses [2]. Consistent with this stance, he states that Bria deliberately targets business and enterprise customers rather than individual consumers, citing concerns about misuse of photorealistic editing tools in consumer contexts [2].
Insights & ideas
Yair Adato argues that generative AI for visual content must be built on responsibility and openness from the outset, framing responsibility as taking accountability for a technology's societal impact rather than treating harms as afterthoughts [1][2]. He positions Bria against companies that scrape internet data, arguing this creates legal and reputational exposure, citing lawsuits and controversies like Scarlett Johansson's voice dispute and music-industry legal battles, and predicts the visual AI market will follow music streaming's shift from scraping toward licensed, royalty-paying models [1]. Central to his approach is an "attribution engine" that traces which training images influence a generated output and pays royalties accordingly, alongside blocking deepfakes and celebrity impersonation [1].
Adato also frames Bria's purpose as closing the gap between generic stock imagery and the specific visual adjustments "communicators" actually need, removing technical barriers for both designers and non-designers [2]. Drawing on his computer vision PhD, he sees this as the fulfillment of that field's potential [2]. He is candid about personally distrusting some technologies, citing his reluctance to let his daughters use TikTok, while insisting AI itself should be managed and mitigated rather than feared, and downplays fears of mass job loss from AI [2].
Experience
- Chief Executive Officer and Co-FounderBRIA AIJan 2022 to Present
- Co-Founder and CTOBRIA AI2020 to Present
- Crew MemberJibe VenturesMar 2021 to Feb 2023
- Leadership ConsultantTrax RetailFeb 2020 to Jan 2023
- Chief Technology OfficerTrax RetailJan 2017 to Feb 2020
- VP R&DTrax RetailJan 2016 to Dec 2016
- Director of image recognitionTrax RetailJan 2015 to Dec 2015
- Research Team LeaderTrax RetailJan 2013 to Jan 2015
Education
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev · Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computer Science2008 - 2013
Media & appearances
- The Promise of AI Based Startups // Yair Adato - YouTube
Yair Adato, CEO and Co-Founder of Bria AI, discusses how the company uses generative AI to enable visual communication. He explains that Bria's platform allows anyone to generate or modify visuals for business purposes without needing a camera or designer, addressing the gap between stock images and the specific visual adjustments communicators actually need. Adato also discusses his PhD background in computer vision, responsible AI development, and announced upcoming premium features and integration with a major stock provider within the next few weeks.
- Videos
Yair Adato, CEO of Bria AI, discusses his company's approach to responsible and open generative AI for visual content. He explains that Bria respects copyright and privacy by using fully licensed training data rather than scraping the internet, implements an attribution engine to trace which visuals impact image generation and pay royalties accordingly, and prevents deepfakes and celebrity impersonation. Adato contrasts this with other AI companies facing lawsuits and PR issues, drawing parallels to music streaming's evolution toward licensing models.
- Balancing Creativity and Accountability with Generative AI ...
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