The growing use of artificial intelligence in software development is making it easier to recreate popular paid applications for free. These alternatives could challenge established software companies and change how people access everyday digital tools.
Last week, a Reddit user named Brandon Thomas introduced ArtCraft, a free recreation of Adobe Creative Suite. The project includes PhotoCraft and PdfCraft, alternatives to Photoshop and Adobe PDF.
Adobe’s software package typically costs individuals $779.99 per year when paid upfront or $69.99 per month under an annual contract.
Earlier this week, ArtCraft expanded its offerings to include alternatives to Microsoft Office. The new tools, WordCraft, DeckCraft, and GridCraft, replicate the core offerings of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Although Thomas is based in the United States, the applications are available worldwide.
Who is Brandon Thomas and what has he built?
Thomas, known on Reddit as “u/ai_art_is_art”, is a software engineer based in Atlanta, United States. He said he used Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5 AI platform and the Rust programming language to reverse engineer Adobe’s creative software.
In his Reddit announcement, Thomas said the project was not a “one-off flash in the pan that will die”.
“I’m not just some casual vibe coder. I’m a 15-year industry veteran who has written everything from six-nines payment rails that move billions of dollars of transaction volume a day to advanced robotics and optics automation. I’ve used Rust extensively for about a decade, and I know how to build and maintain large-scale Rust projects,” he said.
“Six-nines payment rails” refers to payment infrastructure with 99.9999% operational availability.
Thomas said he wanted to make software freely accessible after becoming frustrated with cancellation fees. On a social media and news platform, he wrote: “We’ll replace Google Search, we’ll build our own smartphones, we’ll build better infra. We’ll remove all the ads and de-enshi**ify the entire tech world.”
What is vibe coding?
Vibe coding involves using AI tools to generate code through natural-language prompts instead of writing it entirely by hand. It allows people with limited programming knowledge to turn ideas into applications.
IBM describes it as a “shift toward intent-driven software development, where AI systems assist developers by generating code from natural language instructions”.
Computer scientist and OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy introduced the term in February 2025. He wrote on X that users could “fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists”.
The trend has grown alongside AI adoption and a surge in new mobile applications. Sensor Tower estimated that new apps doubled in the first half of this year to approximately 560,000.
Are there copyright concerns?
Thomas describes the Adobe alternatives as “clean-room” replacements, claiming they were built from scratch using publicly available file-format specifications rather than Adobe’s proprietary source code.
However, questions remain about the development process. Intellectual property law professor Andres Guadamuz noted that the extent of AI-generated and human-written code remains unclear.
“We also do not know whether the claimed ‘clean-room process’ stands up to scrutiny,” he said.
Could AI threaten established software companies?
AI-built alternatives may not make Adobe or Microsoft obsolete. However, if free applications can offer comparable functionality, they could put pressure on established software companies and reduce the profitability of their paid products.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
Do Follow: The Mainstream LinkedIn | The Mainstream Facebook | The Mainstream Youtube | The Mainstream Twitter
About us:
The Mainstream is a premier platform delivering the latest updates and informed perspectives across the technology business and cyber landscape. Built on research-driven, thought leadership and original intellectual property, The Mainstream also curates summits & conferences that convene decision makers to explore how technology reshapes industries and leadership. With a growing presence in India and globally across the Middle East, Africa, ASEAN, the USA, the UK and Australia, The Mainstream carries a vision to bring the latest happenings and insights to 8.2 billion people and to place technology at the centre of conversation for leaders navigating the future.