Two former TikTok employees, Melody Chu and Jing Liu, have launched an iOS app called Superpose that uses generative AI to suggest and coach portrait poses. The app functions as a camera tool: users can take a selfie or a photo of someone else, and Superpose will produce four AI-generated pose options to try.
Origins and team background
Melody Chu says the idea came from a personal problem—her husband consistently took poor photos of her—leading her to explore whether advances in computer vision and generative AI could offer a solution. Before founding Superpose, Chu held product roles at Meta, Nextdoor, Roblox, TikTok and Slack. Jing Liu was a founding engineer at a 3D face-scanning startup and later worked on image and video models at TikTok.
How the app works
Superpose generates four potential poses for each captured or uploaded image. Some generated poses are stylized or extravagant, and occasional outputs can appear uncanny. Users can save generated poses and use a match-pose feature that helps them position themselves in the frame according to the suggested pose.
The company emphasizes it does not intend to create fully synthetic backgrounds or place users in fantastical scenes. Instead, Superpose aims to focus on capturing real-life moments and improving portrait photography through AI-guided directions.
Adoption, pricing and product development
Superpose launched in July and the company reports more than 22,000 downloads so far, with users having generated over 190,000 poses. The app provides five free generations per day; additional packs are sold—five extra generations for $2.99 and 20 generations for $9.99.
Chu acknowledged that some pose suggestions can feel off and said the team is working to refine generation styles, personalization and live coaching from the viewfinder to make guidance more natural and useful.
Funding and competitive context
The startup has raised $2.2 million from Khosla Ventures, Chinese smartphone and selfie-app maker Meitu, and OVTR VC. Chu noted other companies are also entering the AI-assisted photography space—Google’s Camera Coach and Adobe’s experimental camera features are examples—but she wants Superpose to specialize in being the best camera for taking portrait photos by following AI directions.
Why it matters
Superpose illustrates a practical application of generative AI beyond image synthesis: using AI to teach photography skills and help users produce better real-world photos. Early download and usage figures, together with investor backing, suggest there is demand for tools that apply AI to improve everyday photography, while the product still faces technical work to make pose suggestions more natural and personalized.
