Axle AI launches on-prem media search platform at IBC

Axle AI is debuting Axle AI FOCUS at IBC in Amsterdam next week, pitching the platform as a unified, on-premise media search and management system for teams that want local control over core assets. The launch underscores growing demand for privacy, speed and workflow simplicity without relying on cloud storage or outside AI providers.

Why it matters: - Media teams are under pressure to find and repurpose footage faster for social and multi-channel distribution. - Axle AI FOCUS is built to keep core media assets on-site, with search and AI tools running locally instead of in third-party cloud systems. - The platform is aimed at organizations that want a single interface for media, subclips and metadata across the workflow.

What happened: - Axle AI is launching Axle AI FOCUS at IBC in Amsterdam next week. - The company will demo the platform at Hall 7, stand 7.D20, from September 11 through 14. - Axle AI is positioning FOCUS as a unified browser-based platform for media search and management. - The launch follows eight years of on-premise AI development and the March acquisition of Portfolio DAM from Monotype/Extensis.

The details: - Axle AI FOCUS starts as a 100% on-premise system. - The MAM and AI modules run on local hardware. - The browser front end manages the workflow for creative users. - No data leaves the customer site in the core deployment model. - Cloud features such as threaded review and a browser timeline editor are available only if the customer chooses to use them. - Those cloud features are generally deployed on customer-managed virtual servers, not on hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft or Google. - Axle AI FOCUS combines four previously separate products into one platform: Axle AI MAM, Axle AI Tags, Axledit / Axle AI Cloud, and Portfolio DAM. - The company says the interface is designed to be radically simple and offered at workgroup pricing. - Axle AI says the platform is meant to follow users from ingest through final review in one package. - Beau Nilsson, Director of Post Production and Operations at Radley Studios, said Axle AI helps keep projects organized and accessible and that the team has been helpful with experiments that add external tagging data.

Between the lines: - The launch signals a continued pushback against cloud-first media workflows in parts of the industry. - Axle AI is betting that security, searchability and local control will outweigh the convenience of fully cloud-based systems for many teams. - The product consolidation also suggests the company is trying to simplify a fragmented set of tools into one buying decision.

What's next: - Axle AI will show FOCUS to attendees in Amsterdam during the IBC conference. - FOCUS is available in three configurations: Field, Team and Workgroup. - Field starts at $2,995 per year and includes MAM, semantic search and scene understanding, Adobe panels, drag-and-drop apps for Resolve and FCP, REST API support, and 3 named users. - Team starts at $14,995 per year and adds trainable AI recognition models for faces, logos, objects, transcription and OCR, custom ONNX model support, and Connectr workflow automation with 2 concurrent workflows. - Workgroup starts at $28,995 per year and adds raw camera format support, DPX workflows, Portfolio DAM image processing, rough cut editing, cloud review and approval, Connectr with 8 concurrent workflows, 10 named users, and a 20-user private cloud license. - Each configuration includes remote onboarding and system setup, with timing ranging from half a day to two days.

The bottom line: - Axle AI FOCUS packages search, AI and DAM features into one on-prem platform for media teams that want local control without giving up modern workflow tools.