Adobe to buy Emmy-winning AI video enhancer Topaz Labs

Adobe has agreed to acquire Topaz Labs, the Emmy-winning maker of AI image and video enhancement tools. The two companies signed a definitive agreement, though the purchase price remains undisclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

Topaz Labs has spent over two decades building tools that upscale low-resolution files, remove noise and restore old footage. Its products, which include Topaz Video and Topaz Gigapixel, are used by millions, including 20 of the world’s 50 largest companies. The firm’s 2025 Emmy win underscores its credibility among professional filmmakers and documentary makers like Robert Stone.

Adobe plans to fold Topaz Labs’ models directly into its Creative Cloud applications, including Photoshop, Lightroom and Premiere, as well as its Firefly AI platform. As creators increasingly blend real footage with AI-generated clips, they need ways to seamlessly merge the two. "Creators are creating more content by mixing captured and generated images and video," said David Wadhwani, who runs Adobe’s Creativity and Productivity business. "With Topaz Labs we will give every creator the quality and control to easily produce that content at higher quality and resolution."

A key asset in the deal is Neurostream, a technology that allows large AI models to run locally on consumer laptops rather than relying on cloud servers. This cuts both cost and latency for heavy video processing work. "Topaz Labs brings deep expertise in optimizing large, complex AI models to run directly on device," Adobe said. By moving these capabilities on-device, Adobe aims to put tools previously limited to high-end systems into the hands of small studios and independent creators.

The acquisition serves as both an offensive strike and a defensive moat. Rival Freepik, now rebranded as Magnific, built a profitable business on AI image upscaling, a space Topaz Labs dominates. Furthermore, while generative video models like OpenAI’s Sora have struggled with high costs, the unglamorous work of sharpening and restoring footage remains a steady, essential need regardless of which AI generator produces the original clip.

For European regulators, the deal will invite scrutiny but is unlikely to trigger the same resistance as Adobe’s abandoned $20 billion bid for Figma. European and UK competition authorities blocked that 2023 takeover, costing Adobe a $1 billion break fee. Because Topaz Labs enhances content rather than competing with a flagship Adobe product, antitrust concerns are expected to be minimal. Adobe will keep Topaz Labs’ standalone products available, and chief executive Eric Yang will remain in place. "We’ve always believed that technology should serve human creativity rather than replace it, and so has Adobe," Yang said.