Kartel.ai
Category: Generative Media (Image / Video)
A full-stack creative production platform that connects brands, agencies, and filmmakers with a curated marketplace of elite AI artists. It uses an AI-enhanced workflow to produce high-quality visual content and advertisements rapidly. Kartel.ai was founded in 2023. The company is led by Kevin Reilly (Current CEO as of 2025), Luke Peterson (Founder). Based in Beverly Hills, USA. Team size: 28 employees (2025). Total funding raised: $2 million. Latest round: Seed. Key investors include Fourward Ventures (co-lead Seed), Connetic Ventures (co-lead Seed), Maven Growth Partners, TopRidge Investments, Elevate Partners.
- Founded
- 2023
- Headquarters
- Beverly Hills, USA
- Team size
- 28 employees (2025)
- Total funding
- $2 million
Value proposition
Offers a streamlined, human-centric process for producing high-quality creative media faster and more cost-effectively by combining AI-enhanced workflows with a vetted network of top AI artists.
Products and solutions
AI-Enhanced Creative Brief Generation, Vetted AI Artist Marketplace, Managed Production Workflow
Unique value
A 'human-centric' approach that uses AI to augment and accelerate, not replace, human creativity. It combines a managed service (producers and directors) with an AI-powered platform to ensure quality and speed.
Target customer
Brands, creative agencies, studios, and individual creators requiring high-quality, cost-effective visual content.
Industries served
Advertising, Media & Entertainment, Marketing
Technology advantage
Proprietary AI-enhanced intake system that generates creative briefs from client conversations, and a workflow platform that matches projects with vetted artists and manages the production process.
How they differentiate
Differentiates from pure AI tools by offering a full-stack, managed service with human producers and vetted artists, ensuring a higher quality and more coherent final product. Differentiates from traditional agencies with greater speed and cost-efficiency driven by AI-powered workflows.
Main competitors
Traditional creative agencies, Generative AI platforms (e.g., Midjourney, RunwayML), Freelancer platforms for creative talent (e.g., Upwork, Fiverr)
Notable customers
Various unnamed agencies and brands
Major milestones
Emerged from stealth in mid-2024, Secured $2M in seed funding, Launched a platform connecting brands with a network of vetted AI artists
Growth metrics
Revenue $3.1M (2025). 28 employees. Pipeline >100 projects. Case study: Laser Eye Center - 2× output with 30% cost reduction.
Market positioning
A niche player aiming to disrupt the traditional creative and advertising production market by offering a hybrid human-AI model.
Geographic focus
North America
Patents and IP
No publicly disclosed patents; its proprietary AI-enhanced platform and curated artist network are its core IP.
About Kevin Reilly (Current CEO as of 2025), Luke Peterson (Founder)
Luke Peterson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kartel.ai. He is a startup veteran with a background in finance, having previously served as a managing director at Wells Fargo. He brings strategic rigor and a passion for leveraging technology to empower the creative industries.
Official website: https://www.kartel.ai/