- Stability AI has named Prem Akkaraju, the former CEO of visual effects company Weta Digital, as its new CEO.
- The financial situation of Stability AI is still not optimistic, and the investment relationship is not harmonious.
OUR TAKE
Much of the success of Stability AI can be directly attributed to Stable Diffusion, which is popular not just because of its effect, but it is free and open source. It is precisely because Stable Diffusion is open enough, so the business model of Stability AI is not clear. In other words, it can’t make money steadily. Forbes has noted that internal documents show that Stability AI’s spending significantly exceeds its income. Under the wave of large models, how to promote commercialization? Is testing all startups.
–Zora Lin, BTW reporter
What happened
British artificial intelligence startup Stability AI has named Prem Akkaraju, the former CEO of visual effects company Weta Digital, as its new CEO, according to a person involved in the decision.
A group of investors, including Akkaraju and former Facebook president Sean Parker, have reportedly put money into Stability AI, which is facing a cash crunch, which could result in a lower valuation for the company.
Stability Al had said in May that it was in talks with some investors about making a large equity investment in the cash-strapped company. The new financing could reduce the holdings of some existing investors, who have collectively invested more than $100 million.
Also read: Stability AI unveils new sound generator Stable Audio Open
Also read: Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque resigns to pursue decentralized AI
Why it’s important
Mostaque, the CEO of Stability AI, announced his resignation in March. Behind the “amicable breakup,” the turmoil at the top of Stability AI goes far beyond that. His departure follows a wave of departures from the company, including the resignation of Ed Newton-Rex, head of audio at Stability AI, over disagreements with the company over copyright protection; David Ha, head of research at Stability AI, and Ren Ito, chief operating officer, are also reported to have left after less than a year on the job. According to statistics, since March last year, at least 19 senior executives or key figures have left.
Moreover, Stability AI has had an uneasy relationship with investors. Sri Viswanath, Coatue’s general partner, is no longer a director. It is reported that this is because of Intel’s investment in Stability, and Coatue holds a large stake in Intel’s competitor Advanced Micro Devices.
Stable Diffusion’s core team suddenly resigned, and Forbes also broke the reason: Stability Al is struggling to make ends meet and raise new funds. It is worth mentioning that Stability AI is not the only AI startup facing commercialization difficulties. Inflection AI, which is valued at $4 billion, is also falling apart, with its CEO and chief scientist moving to Microsoft to lead the newly formed AI division, taking many of Inflection AI’s employees with them. How to achieve efficient commercialization under the wave of large models is a problem that these companies need to focus on.
