Launched in late 2018, remove.bg was the first web-based tool to use deep learning to identify the "foreground" of an image and strip away the background in a single click. While background removal was previously a manual task requiring Photoshop expertise (lasso tools and masking), remove.bg turned it into a five-second automated process. Today, it serves as a core utility for e-commerce, professional photography, and marketing.
The Origins: The company was founded in Vienna, Austria, by Benjamin Groessing and Kaleido AI. The tool went viral almost immediately upon its 2018 launch due to its "magic-like" simplicity.
The Virality Factor: Within its first three months, the site attracted millions of users through word-of-mouth on platforms like Product Hunt and Reddit.
Pre-Acquisition: Before the Canva merger, Kaleido was a lean, highly profitable startup that did not rely heavily on massive venture capital rounds.
Acquisition Value: While the exact price of the 2021 acquisition was not disclosed, it occurred during a period where Canva was aggressively acquiring "best-in-class" utility tools (like Pexels and Pixabay). Industry analysts estimate the value of Kaleido at the time was in the high tens of millions to low hundreds of millions based on its high-margin API revenue.
The company has expanded from a simple website into a multi-platform ecosystem:
Web Interface: The flagship drag-and-drop tool for casual users.
Desktop App: Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, allowing for batch processing (thousands of images at once).
Adobe Photoshop Plugin: Allows professional retouchers to use the remove.bg AI directly within their layers.
API for Developers: A robust API that integrates with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, allowing stores to automatically clean up product photos as they are uploaded.
Under the Kaleido/Canva umbrella, the product line expanded into video:
Unscreen: Launched as a sister product, Unscreen applies the same "one-click" logic to video files (MP4, MOV, and GIF), removing backgrounds without the need for a green screen.
Fine-Hair" Neural Engine: The 2026 update introduced a dedicated "Micro-Masking" model specifically for frizzy hair and semi-transparent objects (like glass or veils), which were historically difficult for AI.
AI Background Generation: Users can now describe a new background via text (Generative AI) rather than just leaving the image transparent.
Smart Shadow 2.0: The AI now analyzes the lighting on the subject and automatically generates a realistic, perspective-correct shadow on the new background.
Simplicity First": The company culture revolves around the idea that "complexity should be hidden." Every product they launch must be "one-click."
European Engineering: Maintaining its roots in Vienna, the company prides itself on high-quality code and European data privacy standards.
E-commerce Power Users: Thousands of Shopify and Amazon sellers use the tool to maintain consistent white backgrounds for product listings.
The Photography Community: Used by wedding and portrait photographers for initial "rough-cuts" and masking before manual retouching.
Developer Ecosystem: A large community of developers uses the remove.bg API to power everything from "magic mirror" apps to automated real estate listing generators.
remove bg
By Canva Austria GmbH
