Who Actually Builds AI Image Models (and Who Builds on Top)

The AI image generation ecosystem is dominated by roughly a dozen companies that train foundational models from scratch. These players fall into four categories: model-first companies (frontier builders with consumer products), model-only companies (open weights or API distributors), product-first builders (companies that started with third-party models and built their own), and orchestrators (platforms routing requests to others' models). Adobe Firefly is highlighted as a hybrid case spanning both model builder and orchestrator roles. The key strategic insight is that owning your foundational model controls cost structure, latency, differentiation, and independence — while companies without their own models compete only on UX or price, always dependent on someone else's infrastructure.