In this AI Basics episode, Jason sits down with Matt Rouif, Co-founder & CEO of Photoroom — the AI photo editing app with 300M+ downloads and 5B images processed annually.

They break down:

Why Photoroom built its own specialized AI models
How they grew from a scrappy startup to $50M+ in revenue
Lessons in product-led growth (from eBay sellers to DoorDash & Amazon)
Red-teaming, brand safety, and building trust in AI imagery
The future of personalized ads, content, and design

This one is a masterclass for founders, operators, and builders.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Matt Rouif joins Jason to discuss AI Basics.

(0:45) Meet Matt Rouif: Photoroom’s $50M+ AI photo startup

(3:15) Live demo: background removal + virtual try-on

(7:40) From indie sellers to DoorDash & Amazon

(12:20) The “Barbie Movie” API moment

(17:05) Red-teaming AI: trust, safety & brand protection

(22:10) Running a 100-person AI startup

(26:30) The future of personalized ads (put you in the ad?)

Explore Further:

Google Cloud’s Report: The Future of AI

Get insights from 23 leading experts on how startups can leverage AI for real business impact.

👉 Read the full report

More AI Basics Episodes

Founders, operators, and builders — catch up on our full Startup Basics series (Legal, Finance, Growth & AI):

👉 thisweekinstartups.com/basics

Links from episode:

Check out Photoroom: https://www.photoroom.com/

Check out Google Cloud: https://cloud.google.com/

Follow Matt:

X: https://x.com/matthieurouif

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthieurouif/

Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

Follow TWiST:

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups

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