Stuart Semple

Name

Stuart Semple

Legal name

Stuart Semple

Website

https://stuartsemple.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stuart Semple is a London-based British multidisciplinary artist and creator brand (founded 1999) that in 2023 launched ABODE, a Kickstarter-funded suite of design and photography tools targeted at designers and photographers who want ownership over their software and data.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Kickstarter crowdfunding: Funding the development of the ABODE design and photography tool suite via a Kickstarter campaign, indicating pre-revenue / pre-launch financing from backers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Stuart Semple is a British multidisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, happenings, technology, and activism. The associated project ABODE is a Kickstarter-funded suite of design and photography tools designed to give end users ownership over their software and personal data, departing from conventional SaaS ownership models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ABODE ABODE is a suite of design and photography tools funded via Kickstarter, designed to give end users ownership over their software and personal data rather than locking them into conventional SaaS ownership models.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Direct peers

• Figma: Figma is a leading collaborative design tool used by designers and design-adjacent professionals. It overlaps with ABODE's designer persona target and competes for the same design-tooling budget, though it focuses more on UI/product design workflows.
• Sketch: Sketch is a macOS-native design tool for digital designers. It serves a similar end-user designer audience to ABODE and represents a comparable point-tool competitor within the design suite category.
• Canva: Canva is a design platform targeting end users and SMBs with accessible creative tools. It competes with ABODE for the same designer/photographer segment and offers a bundled, easy-to-use alternative to traditional creative suites.
• Capture One: Capture One is a professional photo-editing and tethering software competing directly with the photography side of ABODE's suite. It targets the same photographer segment with premium, ownership-friendly licensing.
• Procreate: Procreate is a popular illustration and design app for iPad with a one-time-purchase model, closely aligned with ABODE's user-ownership philosophy. It competes for the same creative end-user base prioritizing ownership over subscription.
• Affinity (Canva-owned): Affinity produces professional design and photo-editing software (Affinity Designer, Photo, Publisher) with a perpetual-license model that emphasizes user ownership. It is one of the closest direct peers to ABODE's positioning around user ownership of software.

Emerging players

• Pixelmator Team (Pixelmator Pro): Pixelmator Pro is a Mac-native image-editing and design tool, now under Apple. It competes with the design/photography functionality ABODE is building and represents a polished point-tool competitor.
• Darktable: Darktable is an open-source photography raw-development tool emphasizing user control and data ownership. It overlaps with the photography side of ABODE and represents an emerging, ownership-first alternative in the same workflow category.
• Pixlr: Pixlr is a cloud-based photo editing and design tool serving end users and SMBs. It competes with ABODE in the same end-user design/photography segment and represents an accessible, lower-friction alternative.

Broad incumbents

• Adobe: Adobe is the dominant incumbent in creative and photography software (Photoshop, Lightroom, Creative Cloud). It is the most directly comparable competitor to ABODE in the design and photography tool category, and also the most likely incumbent to neutralize ABODE's user-ownership positioning.

Market position

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stuartsemple
• Facebookfacebook.com/MrStuartSemple

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stuart Semple