Adobe Bets Big on AI and Public Cloud with Sensei Framework

Adobe is making significant strategic investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) with the introduction of its new platform, Sensei. Announced at the company's annual MAX conference, Sensei is designed to be a unified AI and ML framework that combines Adobe's deep knowledge of working with photos, videos, documents, and marketing data with a robust AI and ML infrastructure.

The Vision Behind Sensei

Similar to how Microsoft and Google are integrating intelligence into their products, Adobe aims to imbue its offerings with more 'smarts.' Sensei is Adobe's answer to this, promising to enhance user experiences through machine learning-based tools and features, as well as smarter traditional analytics. The platform is slated for integration across all of Adobe's product clouds: Creative Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Document Cloud. Furthermore, Adobe plans to make Sensei's capabilities accessible to Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and developers through APIs, enabling them to build similar AI-driven features into their own applications.

Key Capabilities and Integrations

In its current form, Sensei already powers features like Adobe's "search by image" functionality in Photoshop and Adobe Stock, which is comparable to Google Images' similar tool. Adobe positions Sensei as its "unified AI framework." According to Adobe CTO Abhay Parasnis, Sensei is one of the company's "most strategic bets," expected to have a profound impact over the next five to ten years, benefiting both Adobe's products and its customers.

Parasnis described Sensei as a "continuously learning system" that learns from user behavior across the entire Adobe suite. A key aspect of Sensei is its ability to bridge Adobe's traditionally separate creative and analytical sides. The company is leveraging open-source tools such as Spark, Torch, and TensorFlow to train Sensei's models, focusing on deep domain knowledge in areas like creativity, document productivity, and customer journey management.

Strategic Partnerships and Cloud Infrastructure

Adobe's commitment to AI is closely tied to its cloud strategy. The company has announced its preference for Microsoft Azure as its cloud provider, indicating a reliance on public cloud advancements to drive innovation. Parasnis believes that the move to public cloud is inevitable for long-term success. However, Adobe also maintains its own data centers, partially powered by OpenStack, to ensure dependable latency and sub-second experiences for critical services, particularly in its analytics and Marketing Cloud offerings. This hybrid approach allows Adobe to manage a complex cloud infrastructure across public, private, and its own data centers.

Competitive Landscape and Future Outlook

While competitors like Google and Microsoft offer broad AI platforms, Adobe aims to differentiate by going deep into specific domains. Sensei's capabilities are already being surfaced in features like Photoshop's Face-Aware Liquify and Document Cloud's ability to find similar documents. Adobe's strategy emphasizes providing end-user consumable behaviors powered by its AI framework, setting it apart from more horizontal AI solutions.

Topics Covered:

Adobe
Adobe Sensei
AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Cloud Computing
Machine Learning
Data Science
APIs
Digital Experience
Creative Cloud
Marketing Cloud
Document Cloud
Microsoft Azure
Open Source Tools (Spark, Torch, TensorFlow)
Predictive Analytics
Computer Vision
Natural Language Processing

This strategic push into AI and cloud computing positions Adobe to lead in delivering intelligent, integrated digital experiences for its vast user base and developer ecosystem.