AI GIANT MIDJOURNEY, SWIMMING IN $200M REVENUE SANS VC, VENTURES INTO HARDWARE BIZ
In a bold and surprising move, Midjourney, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) image-generating platform with modest innovation roots and astronomical success, has set its sights on the hardware industry. Known to have eclipsed the $200 million revenue mark with no venture capital backing, the company is making strategic leaps into unexplored territory.
The team that boasts fewer than 100 members is about to get a new San Francisco based division, focused on spearheading Midjourney's hardware initiatives. The move indicates a pivot or, more likely, an expansion of their enterprise-scope from just an AI platform to a potential hardware manufacturing giant.
Hints about the nature of this venture come from the company's recent hiring spree. One standout name is Ahmad Abbas, a previous engineer at Neuralink who also contributed to the development of the Apple Vision Pro, Apple's trailblazing mixed reality headset. With the hiring of Abbas, it seems plausible that Midjourney may be considering a journey into the realms of mixed reality.
Prowess for this new venture is further demonstrated by David Holz, CEO of Midjourney. Holz is also a co-founder of Leap Motion, a company that set a benchmark in the realm of 3D motion capture technology. His history shows that he possesses a keen sense for hardware; his decision to drive Midjourney into the hardware industry might not just be a wild goose chase, but a calculated movement backed by considerable expertise.
While the company is establishing itself in new territory, it also continues to empower its existing one. Despite facing lawsuits regarding its AI training strategies, development of Artificial Intelligence models continues unabated. As it constructs bridges in the lucrative hardware market, it does not intend to burn those in AI software.
Midjourney's AI models are focused on video and 3D generation, potentially opening a plethora of creative opportunities for the next line of Hardware. It could indeed be a ground-breaking amalgam of Midjourneys' AI prowess and their new hardware endeavors on the horizon.
The future of technology is increasingly intertwined, and the advent of AI-generated imagery in hardware equipment is a natural progression. Midjourney's bold step into hardware manufacturing is indicative of the increasingly blurry distinction between software and hardware companies in a world dominated by AI.
As we look forward, Midjourney's hardware venture may pave the way for new frontiers being explored by AI companies. It very well might set a precedent, pushing more AI-focused companies to consider diversification into hardware, forever changing and advancing the technological landscape.