“Software is over”: Bold AI developer takes aim at Adobe with open source clones

Developer Brandon Thomas has launched an ambitious project to replace Adobe’s Creative Suite with a suite of seven open-source applications. Utilizing Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5, Thomas is employing AI-powered reverse engineering to recreate the functionality and user interface of industry-standard tools like Photoshop, Premiere, and Illustrator. Built using Rust and WebAssembly, these applications aim to offer a free, high-fidelity alternative to Adobe’s proprietary software. While the project is currently in a 'super early alpha' stage and has faced criticism regarding its immediate usability and feature gaps, Thomas remains confident in his goal to achieve parity with Adobe’s offerings. The project, which evolved from the 'Artcraft' AI image editing tool, represents a significant attempt to leverage generative AI in the development of complex software ecosystems, challenging the dominance of established enterprise creative suites.