Inside Adobe: Creative software leader building the 'one-stop shop' for AI models

Adobe is a digital media and marketing software giant serving creators, business professionals, and enterprise marketers through a subscription-based model now layered with consumption-based "generative credits". Leadership is steering the company beyond standalone tools into full "Content Supply Chain" automation, positioning Adobe as the aggregation layer where users access both proprietary Firefly models and third-party models from partners like Google and OpenAI.

The company's strategy prioritizes becoming a "one-stop shop" for AI by abstracting model complexity and integrating "agentic interfaces" into flagship products like Acrobat and Express. They are aggressively pushing GenStudio to help brands build a "brand brain," linking creative production directly to marketing activation to automate personalization at scale.

You'll learn how leadership views the "seat explosion" debate and why they believe automation via Firefly Foundry will drive enterprise spend rather than cannibalize seats. Shantanu Narayen (CEO) and David Wadhwani (President, Digital Media) explain the economics of "generative credits" and why owning the customer workflow matters more than owning the underlying model.

All sourced directly from Adobe's own leadership at their 2025 Adobe MAX Investor Session and Q4 Earnings Call.