What OBVIOUS does

OBVIOUS is a Paris-based collective of 11 artists and researchers, founded in 2017 by Pierre Fautrel, Gauthier Vernier, and Hugo Caselles-Dupré, that creates art using artificial intelligence at the intersection of academic research and creative practice. The collective operates a research laboratory hosted at Sorbonne University and funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), and is recognized for several firsts in the AI art space: the first AI-generated artwork sold at a major auction house (Portrait d'Edmond de Belamy at Christie's, 2018), the first French artists to mint NFTs on SuperRare (April 2018, the 8th artist ever on the platform), and pioneering research in fMRI-to-image reconstruction (Mind-to-Image, 2024).

The company produces physical artworks (paintings, prints, sculptures, and limited editions), digital artworks and NFTs distributed across SuperRare, OpenSea, Verse.Works, Braindrops, and K011, and bespoke AI-driven creative projects for enterprise clients. Underlying technology spans Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), video diffusion models with optical-flow motion conditioning (OnlyFlow), text-to-image stacks (VQGAN+CLIP), large language model integration (GPT3, Bloom, Mistral AI), brain-to-image reconstruction from fMRI, and quantum-circuit-informed generative frescoes. Named enterprise clients include Nike (AI MAX sneakers, 2020), Alpine (A110 Sastruga art car, 2022), Opéra de Paris (Emergence, 2023), Dolce & Gabbana (Eco Eterno, 2024), Glenfiddich (Morphometric Fields, 2024), Lapierre (Xelius SL Symbiosis, 2024), Kiprun (Infinit jersey, 2025), Dorcel (Speciesism Advent Calendar, 2024), Quandela (Quantum Gaze, 2025), GENCI/CNRS (Loss Landscapes, 2024), Mistral AI (Molière Ex Machina, 2026), and the Bibliothèque nationale de France (ϕ I am the order implicit, 2026).

Revenue is generated through four streams: physical artwork sales (one-off), NFT and digital art sales (transaction-based on third-party platforms), brand collaboration and commissioned projects (project-based, quote-based, sourced via direct relationships and event-driven exposure), and exhibition/cultural project fees. The company is represented by galleries in France, UK, China, and South Korea; exhibitions span the Grand Palais, Venice Biennale, Opéra de Paris, Hermitage Museum, Haus der Kunst, Macao Art Biennale, Centre Pompidou, and others across 13+ countries. No revenue, funding, or ownership data is publicly disclosed.

Name

OBVIOUS

Legal name

Obvious

Website

https://obvious-art.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OBVIOUS is a Paris-based French AI art collective of 11 researchers and artists that creates AI-generated physical and digital artworks and runs bespoke AI creative projects for luxury brands, sports brands, and cultural institutions globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Generative AI Art

NAICS

Art Dealers (45992)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Art & 1/1 Digital Art NFT Marketplaces (FSADANAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Enterprise & Brand NFT Commerce Platforms (White-Label/Embedded) (FSADANAM)

Keywords

• Generative AI art
• AI-generated artwork
• NFT art collections
• Brand creative collaborations
• Art commissioning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Physical Artwork Sales: Sale of physical artworks including limited editions and unique pieces such as paintings, prints, and sculptures. Physical series include La Famille de Belamy (2018), Electric Dreams of Ukiyo (2019), Facets of AGI (2020), 7.1 (2022), Parietal Burners (2020-2023), and IMAGINE physical works.
2. NFT / Digital Art Sales: Sale of digital artworks as NFTs through platforms such as SuperRare, OpenSea, Verse.Works, and Braindrops. Series include SuperRare (2018), Dream Capsules (2022), Emergence (2023), Speciesism (2023), AI Index (2023), Whispering Sands (2024), IMAGINE (2024), and ϕ I am the order implicit (2026).
3. Brand Collaboration / Commissioned Projects: Custom AI-driven creative projects with luxury brands, sports brands, and cultural institutions. Clients include Dolce & Gabbana (Eco Eterno), Glenfiddich (Morphometric Fields), Quandela (Quantum Gaze), Nike (AI MAX), Alpine (A110 Sastruga), Lapierre (Symbiosis), Kiprun (Infinit), Opéra de Paris (Emergence), and Dorcel (Speciesism advent calendar).
4. Exhibition Fees and Cultural Projects: Fees received for exhibiting at museums and cultural institutions. Obvious has been exhibited at venues including Grand Palais, Venice Biennale, Opéra de Paris, Haus der Kunst, Macao Art Biennale, and others. Also includes collaborations with academic institutions (Sorbonne University, ANR-funded research lab).

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OBVIOUS creates AI-generated artworks across physical formats (paintings, prints, sculptures) and digital NFTs, using proprietary algorithms built in-house at a research laboratory hosted at Sorbonne University. The collective sells these works directly through their website, NFT platforms (SuperRare, OpenSea, Verse.Works, Braindrops), and gallery representation in France, UK, China, and South Korea. They also design bespoke AI-driven creative projects for luxury, fashion, automotive, and sports brands, plus cultural institutions.

Product overview

OBVIOUS is a French trio of artists and researchers (Pierre Fautrel, Gauthier Vernier, Hugo Caselles-Dupré) working at the intersection of AI and art. Their portfolio spans physical artworks (GAN-generated paintings, prints, and sculptures), digital NFTs (minting on SuperRare, Braindrops, OpenSea, verse.works), and custom AI art projects for brands. Key physical series include La Famille de Belamy (first AI art at Christie's 2018), Electric Dreams of Ukiyo, Facets of AGI, Parietal Burners, 7.1, and IMAGINE (mind-to-image). Digital series include SuperRare (2018 NFT pioneering), Dream Capsules, Emergence (Opéra de Paris), Speciesism, AI Index, Whispering Sands, and ϕ I am the order implicit. They offer brand collaboration services (Nike, Alpine, Lapierre, Dorcel, Kiprun, Dolce&Gabbana, Glenfiddich) and commissioned institutional projects. Their research division produces proprietary technologies including Mind-to-Image (brain-to-image), OnlyFlow (video diffusion motion control), and various GAN/text-to-image algorithms. Research conducted within Sorbonne University laboratory, funded by French National Research Agency (ANR).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Obvious Studio: The studio arm of Obvious that collaborates with brands, institutions, and cultural actors who seek new forms of expression through technology, designing bespoke projects where artificial intelligence becomes a narrative and aesthetic medium.

Products and services

• La Famille de Belamy Series of 11 portraits created using GANs trained on 15,000 classical portraits, depicting an imagined aristocratic lineage. The first AI artwork to go through Christie's auction house in 2018.
• Electric Dreams of Ukiyo Physical series using GANs trained on hundreds of thousands of Japanese prints, drawing parallels between AI arrival and electricity introduction in traditional Japan.
• Facets of AGI Physical series of 22 masks depicting facets of artificial general intelligence, created using GANs on a database of African masks and shaped by Ghanaian craftsmen.
• Parietal Burners Physical series bridging prehistoric cave paintings with street art, created in collaboration with different street artists using GANs and style transfer algorithms.
• 7.1 Physical series of oil paintings depicting seven ancient wonders using text-to-image algorithms and historically informed bibliography from classical texts.
• SuperRare First French artists to mint NFTs on SuperRare platform (2018), participating in the beta version as the 8th artists to ever mint on the platform.
• Dream Capsules NFT series of 1,000 AI-generated dreams using GPT3, VQGAN+CLIP, and super-resolution algorithms, released on Braindrops with collector rewards and a published book.
• Emergence, Ballet Algorithmique Series of 256 video artworks with unique music commissioned by Opéra de Paris, exploring emergence through AI-generated ballets based on dancer movements, accompanied by algorithm-composed music.
• Speciesism Digital series of 69 works exploring intimate relationships between humans and machines, using long-form generation principles on K011 platform.
• AI Index Digital series of AI-generated magazine covers depicting human-AI relationships with NFTs that unlock based on an AI sentiment gauge monitoring X hashtags over 7 days.
• IMAGINE Surrealist artworks created using Mind-to-Image algorithms combining AI and neuroscience to generate images from brain MRI scans, with the first three NFTs presented at Christie's 'Next Wave' auction.
• Whispering Sands Digital series of 100 on-chain AI-generated artworks combining GAN-generated Sanskrit letters with Chladni patterns created using LLMs, one of the first AI artworks stored entirely on-chain.
• AI MAX Brand collaboration with Nike creating the first AI-designed Nike sneaker using GANs trained on Nike Air Max 1, 90, and 97 images to generate new colorways for a limited edition release.
• A110 Sastruga Brand collaboration with Alpine creating an AI-generated art car using GANs trained on Alpine's racing history, with a design inspired by Sastruga wind erosion patterns on snow, unveiled at Art Paris.
• Eco Eterno Three-minute audio-synchronized generative artwork for Dolce & Gabbana's exhibition 'From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce&Gabbana', featuring AI-generated origami-inspired geometric designs and caustic light effects, exhibited at Palazzo Reale (Milan), Grand Palais (Paris), and Palazzo Esposizioni (Rome).
• Morphometric Fields Series of 300 live-generated artworks merging AI image generation with generative flow field algorithms, trained on antler databases analyzed through morphometrics. Commissioned by Glenfiddich with proceeds donated to The Rivers Trust.
• Loss Landscapes Artwork commissioned by GENCI & CNRS using the loss function of the Bloom language model trained on the Jean Zay Supercomputer, with symbolic references to Jean Zay himself.
• Xelius SL 10.0 Symbiosis Limited edition racing bike design for Lapierre exploring human-machine rotation through color and form (pink for humanity, blue for mechanics) with AI-generated flowers and gears, worn by Groupama-FDJ and FDJ-SUEZ teams during Tour de France 2023.
• Speciesism Advent Calendar Collaboration with Dorcel exploring futures of intimacy and desire through AI, using advanced generative algorithms including niche diffusion models, presented as both sculpture and generative artwork with an immersive launch event at Danysz Gallery.
• Infinit 2025 Kiprun athletes jersey using a generative algorithm inspired by mathematical aperiodic tiling, creating unique jerseys for each athlete through a 13-meter scroll printing process, unveiled at Paris Marathon 2025.
• Quantum Gaze Fresco artwork commissioned by Quandela using real quantum circuit calculations to guide visual zone shapes, created with the Sinopia fresco generation algorithm, inscribed on Quandela's photonic quantum computer at CEA's TGCC.
• ϕ I am the order implicit Self-originated digital series exploring the golden ratio through 100 on-chain artworks, using a LoRA trained on Biblioth\u00e8que nationale de France naturalist drawings, exhibited as a 100-meter algorithmic fresco at Noûs Festival.
• Molière Ex Machina Self-originated AI-generated Molière play in collaboration with Sorbonne and Mistral AI, covering synopsis, dialogues, costumes, stage, and music all generated using AI, to be performed at Opera Royal de Versailles.

Quantifiable outcome

• First AI artwork ever sold at Christie's auction house (Portrait d'Edmond de Belamy, 2018)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability22 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Obvious collaborated with BnF archivists for the 'ϕ I am the order implicit' project — using a corpus of naturalist drawings from BnF's archives to train a LoRA, enabling images that adopt the codes of scientific illustration. The resulting artworks were exhibited at the Noûs festival at BnF as part of a 100-meter algorithmic fresco.
• Mistral AIcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026For the 'Molière Ex Machina' project, experts in text generation at Mistral AI were called upon alongside Obvious's expertise for generating text, costumes, stage, and music. The project is a new Molière play written using AI, to be performed at Opera Royal de Versailles.
• Théâtre Molière SorbonnecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Théâtre Molière Sorbonne collaborates with Obvious and Mistral AI on 'Molière Ex Machina' — a project gathering the greatest historians of Molière to create a new play he might have written had he not died in 1673, using AI for all aspects of creation including text, costumes, stage, and music.
• QuandelacoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Obvious collaborated with Quandela (a photonic quantum computing company) on 'Quantum Gaze' — a fresco artwork using real quantum circuit calculations to guide visual zone shapes. The artwork was inscribed on Quandela's quantum computer installed at CEA's TGCC. Obvious used their Sinopia fresco generation algorithm informed by quantum process data.
• Kiprun (Decathlon)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Obvious created the 2025 Kiprun athletes jersey using a generative algorithm inspired by mathematical aperiodic tiling. Unique jerseys were created for each athlete using a novel 13-meter scroll printing process. The design was unveiled at Paris Marathon 2025 and worn at UTMB Chamonix and national road races.
• Dolce & GabbanacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Obvious created 'Eco Eterno' for Dolce & Gabbana's exhibition 'From the Heart to the Hands' — a three-minute audio-synchronized generative artwork featuring AI-generated origami-inspired geometric designs. The work was exhibited at Palazzo Reale (Milan), Grand Palais (Paris), and Palazzo Esposizioni (Rome).
• GlenfiddichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Obvious collaborated with Glenfiddich on 'Morphometric Fields' — a series of 300 live-generated artworks merging AI image generation with morphometric analysis of antlers. All proceeds were donated to The Rivers Trust for river protection across Scotland.
• GENCI & CNRScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Obvious created 'Loss Landscapes' for the Jean Zay Supercomputer — an artwork using the loss function of the Bloom language model trained on Jean Zay, with symbolic references to Jean Zay himself. Jean Zay created both the Cannes Film Festival and the CNRS.
• LapierrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Obvious designed the 'Xelius SL 10.0 Symbiosis' limited edition racing bike, exploring human-machine rotation through color and form (pink for humanity, blue for mechanics). The design featured AI-generated flowers and gears. The bike was ridden by Groupama-FDJ and FDJ-SUEZ teams during Tour de France 2023 and the Women's Tour de France with Zwift.
• DorcelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Obvious collaborated with Dorcel on the 'Speciesism Advent Calendar' — an exploration of futures of intimacy and desire through AI. The project used advanced generative algorithms including niche diffusion models. The advent calendar was presented as both sculpture and generative artwork, with an immersive launch event at Danysz Gallery.
• Opéra de PariscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Obvious was commissioned by Opéra de Paris to create 'Emergence, Ballet Algorithmique' — a series of 256 video artworks exploring emergence through AI-generated ballets based on dancer movements, accompanied by algorithm-composed music. The collaboration was released as an NFT collection on Opéra de Paris's dedicated NFT marketplace.
• AlpinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Obvious collaborated with Alpine on the 'A110 Sastruga' AI-generated art car — GANs trained on Alpine's racing history created a new racing track, which was then used to model wind friction on the car. The resulting design, inspired by Sastruga wind patterns on snow, was applied to the A110 car unveiled at Art Paris. A series of digital artworks was also created for different countries.
• NikecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Obvious was selected alongside 21 artists by Nike for the Nike by You Workshop to customize a pair of sneakers. Using GANs trained on Nike Air Max 1, 90, and 97 images, they created the 'AI MAX' sneaker — the first AI-designed Nike sneaker, available for 10 days on Nike.fr.
• Sorbonne University / ANR (French National Research Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerObvious's research laboratory is hosted at Sorbonne University and funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). The lab conducts research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and visual creation, exploring how algorithms can be used by artists to express a vision, develop new aesthetics, and explore new conceptual grounds.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• TeamLab: Large interdisciplinary digital art collective producing immersive, technology-driven installations exhibited globally (e.g., teamLab Planets, Mori Building). Comparable in operating at the intersection of art, technology, and brand experiences but at significantly greater scale and with broader media scope than pure AI image generation.
• Universal Everything: UK-based digital art and design studio producing generative animations and installations for brands, museums, and public spaces. Comparable in combining commissioned work for premium brands (Nike, Samsung, Hyundai) with gallery-grade artistic output.

Direct peers

• Refik Anadol Studio: Los Angeles-based studio producing large-scale AI-generated data sculptures and immersive installations exhibited at major museums worldwide. Closest peer in combining frontier AI research with museum-grade artistic output and premium brand collaborations (e.g., NFT sales at Christie's).
• Beeple (Mike Winkelmann): Digital artist behind 'Everydays' and the record-setting $69M Christie's NFT sale. Comparable as a pioneer digital/AI artist whose work sits at the intersection of generative art, NFTs, and brand commissions at the highest cultural and commercial tier.
• Studio NAND: Berlin-based creative studio building custom AI tools for art and design with a research-driven approach (e.g., AI-generated perfume, generative typography). Comparable in operating as a small research-led studio producing commissioned AI-driven creative work for cultural and commercial clients.
• Mario Klingemann: German AI artist and early GAN practitioner whose work has appeared at Christie's, MoMA, and Centre Pompidou. Directly comparable in pioneering AI-generated art in the 2018–2020 window and exhibiting in the same global museum venues.

Emerging players

• Robbie Barrat: AI artist whose GAN-generated nudes were sold at Christie's in 2019 and exhibited at shows organized by the same galleries representing Obvious (e.g., Kate Vass Gallery). Closely comparable in early AI-art auction pioneering and gallery representation in the same network.
• Holly Herndon: AI-focused artist and researcher (with Mat Dryhurst) creating AI-generated music, voice, and visual works with academic and institutional backing. Comparable in operating at the intersection of AI research, art, and institutional partnerships but with primary focus on audio rather than visual art.
• Anna Ridler: UK-based artist working with AI, datasets, and GANs to create generative visual works exhibited at major museums and fairs (e.g., Pinakothek der Moderne, The Photographers' Gallery). Comparable in artist-researcher practice blending AI methodology with traditional art-world exhibition.

Others

• Art Blocks: Leading generative-art NFT platform hosting curated and iconic generative-art collections. Comparable as a distribution and marketplace venue for Obvious's digital works, but operates as infrastructure rather than as a competing studio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/obv_ious
• Instagraminstagram.com/obvious_art
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/obvious_art

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 OBVIOUS