MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 23, 2026--
Picsart, a leading all-in-one creative design platform with over 130M+ monthly users, today announced the launch of Picsart Aura, a personal creative collaborator optimized for real-time co-creation with voice-powered prompting. Aura eliminates the creative learning curve: you talk, it creates. No technical barriers - just voice and vision, with AI that learns personal style and creative preferences over time.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260219036978/en/
Aura represents an evolution of Picsart's image editor, one of the platform's top-performing mini apps. Built on extensive research analyzing over 100,000 user prompts, Aura is designed to cover the most popular creative requests and use cases. Grounded in Picsart's 'Vibe Design' foundation, it's the easiest route to creation - the barrier to creative entry is close to zero. It eliminates the challenge of figuring out where to begin, guiding users from initial spark to finished output without prompting barriers.
Hovhannes Avoyan, Founder and CEO of Picsart, said: "The old model required you to master the tool before you could create. With Aura, we've eliminated that barrier entirely. The software learns you; your aesthetic, your workflow, your voice. It's less like using an editor and more like working with a creative partner who understands what you're trying to achieve."
Content creators can transform static photos into trending, animated content in 60 seconds, create cartoons and even extend short clips into longer stories with Video Extend. Small businesses can turn kitchen table product shots into magazine-quality marketing assets without a production crew. Everyday creators can fix group photos and participate in viral trends through voice commands. Collaborative teams can leverage built-in sharing and real-time co-creation features, allowing friends or colleagues to instantly join sessions for feedback and refinement.
Picsart Aura addresses a core insight: creative friction doesn't stem from lack of capability, but from the blank canvas problem - not knowing where to start or what to ask for. The new function delivers:
Aura enables seamless movement between AI and manual editing. Creators can shift to Picsart's full editor for precision work (e.g. brushwork, stickers, typography) then return to Aura to continue creating through conversation.
This launch follows Picsart's recent milestone of surpassing 2.5 billion lifetime downloads and the recent product debuts of Flow, its AI workflow automation tool, and AI Assistant for detail-oriented, in-depth workflows. Combined with Flow and AI Assistant, Aura reinforces Picsart's vision of AI-powered creation where ideas flow naturally from thought to finished work.
Picsart is available on web and mobile. For more information about Picsart Aura, visit picsart.com/aura
Notes to Editors
About Picsart
Picsart is a recognized AI-powered platform for creative independence in a global economy increasingly driven and impacted by content. For over 14 years, Picsart has grown with and enabled the next generation of storytellers – Gen Z digital natives – to design, brand, and build at scale without limitations or barriers. With approximately 130+ million monthly active users and over 2.5 billion downloads, Picsart is well on its way to becoming the creative engine behind the $750 billion market of small businesses, entrepreneurs and brands, offering a range of innovative and intuitive tools and solutions that revolutionizes the creative, marketing and advertising processes. As creativity becomes central to identity, influence, entrepreneurship and profitability, Picsart is the platform for scalable, self-directed storytelling in a content-first economy.
Picsart launches Aura.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court told judges on Monday that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte encouraged death squads to carry out extrajudicial killings using fear and financial rewards.
The court in The Hague is holding pretrial hearings for the ex-leader, who is facing three counts of crimes against humanity for deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw while in office.
According to prosecutors, police and hit squad members carried out dozens of murders at Duterte's behest, motivated by the promise of money or to avoid becoming targets themselves. “For some, killing reached the level of a perverse form of competition,” deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said in his opening statement.
The charges date from Duterte’s time as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president, and include dozens of killings as part of his so-called war on drugs.
The hearing is not a trial, but allows prosecutors to outline their case in court. After weighing the evidence, judges have 60 days to decide whether it is strong enough to merit putting Duterte on trial.
Duterte “stands behind his legacy resolutely, and he maintains his innocence absolutely,” lead defense lawyer Nick Kaufman told the three-judge panel.
According to Kaufman, the prosecution “cherry-picked” examples of Duterte “bombastic rhetoric," and his client's words were never intended to incite violence.
Duterte, 80, was not present in the courtroom, having waived his right to appear. Last month, judges found he was fit to stand trial, after postponing an earlier hearing over concerns about his health.
In the Philippines, dozens of activists with relatives of suspects killed in Duterte’s anti-drugs crackdowns held a noisy protest in metropolitan Manila on Monday. More than 100 relatives gathered to watch the pretrial hearings on big TV screens in three venues organized by civic groups in the capital region.
“We’re hoping that the ICC, even if it’s thousands of miles away, will finally render justice to all these families,” said Randy delos Santos, a volunteer in a charity shelter which was hosting one event.
The 17-year-old nephew of delos Santos was shot and killed by three police officers in a purported drug raid in August 2017. The killing sparked a public outcry. The officers were found guilty of murder in a rare conviction by a Manila court the following year.
Duterte supporters criticized the administration of current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Duterte’s political rival, for arresting and surrendering the former leader to a court whose jurisdiction they dispute. Detractors include Duterte's daughter, current Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte who announced last week that she would seek the presidency in the 2028 elections.
ICC prosecutors said in February 2018 that they would open a preliminary investigation into the violent drug crackdowns. In a move that human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability, Duterte, who was president at the time, announced a month later that the Philippines would leave the court.
Judges rejected a request from Duterte’s legal team to throw out the case on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction because of the Philippine withdrawal. Countries can’t “abuse” their right to withdraw from the court's foundational Rome Statute “by shielding persons from justice in relation to alleged crimes that are already under consideration,” the September decision says.
An appeal of that decision is still pending.
Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported to up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.
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Associated Press journalist Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report
Families of victims on the deadly anti-drugs crackdowns of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte watch a live stream of Duterte's pre-trial hearing from The Hague, at a venue in Quezon City, Philippines on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Activists hold pictures of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a rally before they watch a live stream of Duterte's confirmation hearing from The Hague, at a venue in Quezon City, Philippines on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Sign reads "Hold Duterte accountable."(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
FILE - Former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte speaks inside the Southorn Stadium during a thanksgiving gathering organized by Hong Kong-based Filipino workers for the former populist president in Hong Kong on March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vernon Yuen, File)
