Kittl was founded in 2020 in Berlin by Nicolas Heymann and Tobias Saul with a clear positioning: build a design tool more powerful than Canva but without the steep learning curve and legacy complexity of Adobe's applications. The result is a browser-based platform that lets creators produce professional graphics, typography-driven designs, and print-ready artwork without installing software, while still offering serious capabilities like vector editing and high-resolution export.
AI sits at the center of the modern product. Kittl integrates an AI background remover, a built-in AI image generator, and other generative features that draw on models from providers like Stability AI and OpenAI as well as Kittl's own in-house technology. These features are woven into the design workflow rather than bolted on, so a creator can generate an image, clean it up, and place it into a layout in one continuous flow.
The platform is especially popular with print-on-demand sellers, merchandise designers, and small studios who need polished vector and typographic output. A deep library of templates, fonts, illustrations, and effects accelerates the work, and Kittl has invested heavily in community, sharing techniques and showcasing creator work to drive engagement and learning.
Kittl's growth has attracted strong venture interest. After an 11.6 million dollar earlier round, the company raised a 36 million dollar Series B in January 2024 led by IVP, with participation from existing investors Left Lane Capital and Speedinvest. The funding fueled continued feature development and the rollout of free AI generations to a broader user base.
By occupying the middle of the design-tool market, Kittl is betting that a large group of creators wants more creative control than template-first tools provide but does not want the overhead of professional desktop suites. Its AI-first, browser-native approach, combined with a thriving community and a focused use case in print and merchandise design, has made it one of the more notable European design-software companies of the current generative wave.