Phota Labs, an artificial intelligence startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), has launched a free iOS application that automatically transforms everyday photographs into professionally styled images while aiming to preserve people’s natural appearances. The app, called Phota, uses personalized AI technology to adjust composition, framing, and perspective without requiring users to manually edit their pictures.
The startup was founded by Cecilia Zhang and Zach Xia, former Adobe employees who worked on computational photography technologies, including Project Indigo, Lightroom, and Photoshop. The founders developed Phota to address limitations in conventional editing tools, which can improve image quality but may struggle to correct poorly composed photographs.
AI Technology Adjusts Composition and Perspective
Phota functions as a personal photography assistant that analyzes images in a user’s camera roll and suggests improvements based on the content and context of each photograph. The system can transform wide-angle group photographs into tighter portraits, adjust camera perspectives, and convert selfies into images resembling photographs taken by another person.
Users can select different photographic styles, ranging from subtle adjustments that retain the original composition to more extensive modifications involving alternative angles and fish-eye lens effects. Zhang told TechCrunch that the application is designed to operate proactively, identifying opportunities to improve photographs before users request specific changes.
Unlike conventional generative AI image editors, which may alter facial features when processing blurry or low-quality photographs, Phota uses proprietary personalization technology to learn and retain individuals’ appearances. The company says this approach helps maintain recognizable facial characteristics throughout image transformations.
The application also embeds invisible watermarks in AI-edited photographs, allowing supported systems to identify images that have undergone artificial intelligence processing. The founders said the technology is intended to improve photographs of actual experiences rather than generate entirely fictional scenes.
Phota Labs Raises $5.6 Million and Plans Android Expansion
Phota Labs raised $5.6 million in seed funding in 2025, led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Figma Ventures, AGI House Ventures, and individual investors. The company is initially targeting people who regularly take photographs for social media but prefer automated improvements over manual editing.
The founders said beta testers responded positively to improvements made to photographs of real experiences, with some users taking more pictures because they expected the application could improve them afterward. Phota Labs also intends to reach families, parents, and older users interested in preserving and sharing personal photographs.
The Phota iOS application is currently available free of charge as the company builds its initial user base. Phota Labs plans to introduce a freemium pricing model and release an Android version, although it has not announced a timeline for either development.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
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