Getty Images and Shutterstock announced that they entered into a merger agreement to combine in a merger, creating a premier visual content company. The combined company, which would have an enterprise value of approximately $3.7 billioni, will be named Getty Images Holdings, Inc. As a combined company, Getty Images and Shutterstock will offer a content library with greater depth and breadth for the benefit of customers, expanded opportunities for its contributor community and a reinforced commitment to the adoption of inclusive and representative content. The merger is a response to the AI-driven transformation of the visual content industry.The companies are responding to significant industry pressures in several ways:Both have experienced substantial stock declines amid broader market challenges.Adobe and AI tools like Midjourney are disrupting traditional stock photo models with cheaper, customized image generation, despite current limitations in the technology.Thanks to genAI, video is becoming cheaper, which could cut into stock image budgets as well.