March 6, 2024

Venus Williams Launches Palazzo, An AI-Powered Interior Design Platform

Tennis star Venus Williams has brought her design talents to Palazzo, a generative AI-based interior design platform bridging the gap between design and personalization.

The service, co-founded by Williams, Raffi Holzer, and Edward Lando, allows users to reimagine their living spaces with the help of advanced technology.

Palazzo

Palazzo introduces a new approach to interior design, blending the ease of technology with design expertise. 

Users can upload photos of their rooms and, through a conversation with an AI chatbot, witness a convincing transformation of their space.

Palazzo, currently in beta, holds vast potential and aspires to be a comprehensive home design hub.

Williams, who founded V Starr, a renowned interior design firm, and Happy Viking, a plant-based food startup, brings her design acumen to Palazzo. 

Joining forces with tech-savvy co-founders Raffi Holzer and Edward Lando, the team envisions making home design enjoyable and accessible. 

“Our vision is to create a space where everything home is in one place,” Williams said, according to FastCompany. “We want people to be able to see the design, feel confident about it, and have fun with it.”

How Does It Work?

Palazzo’s interface is user-friendly, guiding users through a design transformation. 

The AI responds to style requests, offering choices and generating visions within minutes. 

This quick, AI-driven process offers a gratifying experience, allowing users to see their personal spaces in entirely new styles, from lush Hollywood Regency to cozy Scandinavian designs.

Palazzo also features a social component, allowing users to share and discuss their designs. 

This could evolve into a collaborative tool for family and friends or even a platform for public engagement in design projects.

The business model of Palazzo is innovative, focusing not on monetizing rendering credits but on creating a multi-sided marketplace. 

The platform plans to generate revenue by offering links to purchase furniture and other products seen in the generated scenes.

“We’ve just found this space where a lot doesn’t exist. And we get to have our say on it and make that mark,” Williams said.


Featured image credit: Dave Kotinsky

Sara Keenan

Tech Reporter at POCIT. Following her master's degree in journalism, Sara cultivated a deep passion for writing and driving positive change for Black and Brown individuals across all areas of life. This passion expanded to include the experiences of Black and Brown people in tech thanks to her internship experience as an editorial assistant at a tech startup.