Perplexity acquired the team behind Visual Electric, a Sequoia-backed AI design startup. The Visual Electric team joined a new Agent Experiences group at Perplexity to integrate advanced design tools and workflows into its AI products.
Visual Electric launched in 2022. The company was founded by Colin Dunn, Adam Menges, and Zach Stiggelbout. Dunn previously worked at Facebook and Dropbox, Menges at Apple, and Stiggelbout at Microsoft. The platform allowed designers to create and edit images on an infinite canvas. It supported ideation, concept development, and project prototyping in a spatial workspace rather than a linear interface.
Visual Electric later added video generation features. The platform was adopted by teams at companies including Stripe, Affirm, and Riot Games, as well as design studios such as Instrument and Manual. The company raised $2.5 million in funding from Sequoia, BoxGroup, and Designer Fund.
