Skylum, formerly known as Macphun, is a leading provider of photo‑editing software, founded in 2008 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and now located in New York City . It has succeeded with partners Dmitry Sytnik and Paul Muzok, along with Executive Director Ivan Kutanin and their international team of over 100 professionals, to rapidly develop Skylum into a global visual‑arts company .
With over 1 million users in more than 200 markets of creative professional , Skylum provides creators with powerful, intuitive, AI‑enhanced tools to businesses and institutions at all experience levels.
🌟 Core Products & Future-Ready Features
Luminar Neo
Luminar Neo, Skylum’s premier standalone editing platform for Windows and macOS with extensive plugin support for the Adobe and Apple ecosystems , launched on February 2022 .
With a modular processing engine design which allows the user to use multiple AI tools without losing performance, Luminar Neo is a step forward for the future of editing software.
Key features include:
AI Magic: The AI tools including Sky AI, Enhance AI, Relight AI, GenErase, GenSwap and GenExpand can change entire scenes in a single click. Skylum celebrated its 3rd Anniversary of the April 2022 release with the May 2022 release of version 1.4.1 including 35 new improvements that added to its three AI Barnstorming tools of Sky AI, Enhance AI and Relight AI. Using human and AI interactions, Skylum is advancing machine learning software, so users can create stunning breathtaking photographs and graphics in an easily exportable format to share with friends, family and colleagues.
Quality Improvements: Supersharp, Upscale, Noiseless AI, Dodge & Burn, Clone/Erase Layers & Masking, HDR Merge, Panorama & Focus Stacking. These improved user experience enhancements, quality improvements and solid workflow enhancements exemplified Skylum products upgrade spirit, and commitment to improving usability for millions of customers.
Workflow Improvements: Batch processing, collections & presets sharing, copying preset layouts, usb raw support (for over 1,000 cameras), virtually undo & redo for forever. Robust & easy to use with no buffering, non-destructive editing, drag and drop ease of use process user interface.
In the sequels of existing World-Wide pandemic editing software startup launches that will be forever forgotten behind the platformed functionality, the escasable AI complex in conjunction with the rapid release of projects to the market entitled auto-adjust workflow,
layer merging, portrait tool improvements and the numerous quality improvements including .0 (What’s new), .1 (Education issues), .2 (non-bug fixed). Skylum also on the scalable end released back-to-back bug fix releases in release 1.25.X and previous release 1.24.X while supporting future roadmap vision to expanded camera support, as a process manager executive and former executive director for a large digital asset management company with a lot of respect and market share.
Aurora HDR
Launched in 2015 as a joint venture with Trey Ratcliff, Aurora HDR is now the standard for tone-mapped high dynamic range processing.
There hasn’t been a standalone update for Aurora in years, but HDR Merge capability has been fully incorporated into Luminar Neo.
Aperty & Luminar Mobile
Aperty, a brand new portrait-specialist desktop app, speeds up retouching workflows.
Luminar Mobile is the editing extension of Neo for iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro; it launched in March 2024 and only recently had its first anniversary
📱 Expansion to Android & ChromeOS
In May 2025, Skylum announced a partnership with Google to deliver Luminar to Android and ChromeOS users. The new mobile app provides Enhance AI, Sky AI, Relight AI, skin tools, and manual editing capabilities to a wider audience—with monthly plans starting from $5 and a lifetime license at $60.
🏆 Industry Accolades
Skylum’s family of products has received impressive recognition:
Red Dot UI award and TIPA “Best Imaging Software” (2022, 2023) for Luminar Neo .
Four Gold Medals at Digital Camera Grand Prix 2020 (Luminar 4, Aurora HDR 2019, Photolemur) .
Lucie Technical Awards (“Best Plug-in”) for Luminar and Luminar Flex .
Forbes Advisor Best Photo Editing Software, 2023: “user‑friendly interface… advanced features including tagging, lens correction, and editing RAW images”
🎯 What Creators Love About Skylum
1. AI at the Center — Skylum’s products feature AI-powered tools like Enhance AI and Sky AI that perform complex enhancements in seconds.
2. Flexible Workflows — Layer-based edits make non-destructive editing easy, and Skylum is compatible with regular plugs for Lightroom and Photoshop .
3. Power & Simplicity — Power to do professional-grade tasks (like focus stacking and HDR merge) and a clean and simple UI don t require learning curves .
4. Cross-Platform Solution — Availability on all macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and ChromeOS natively provides freedom to create wherever you want when you want.
5. Continuous Advancement — Skylum continues to evolve with updates that optimize performance, any new AI elements and compatibility with new hardware!.
🔮 Future
Skylum will soon add to its mobile offering with Android & ChromeOS, keep improving AI driven workflows and embrace immersive creativity with additional tools like they have done with Vision Pro and iPad. We love their continued focus on creativity potential along with ease of use which makes them an appealing option for new photographers everywhere
✍️ Conclusion
Almost an exact decade ago when they were still called Macphun in Ukraine, Skylum had created a product that combined power with simplicity. It is something they have an impressive ability to achieve as leader in the imaging world. If you’re a weekend warrior, or you’re the professional retoucher for a luxury brand, you will find wonderful tools in the Luminar ecosystem (Neo, Mobile, Aperty) that are intelligent, efficient and inspiring. If you interested in AI-powered editing that feels intuitive and deep, Skylum’s ever-improving platform is worth a look.
