Meta is licensing Midjourney’s AI image and video generation tech, the company’s Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang announced on Threads Friday. Meta’s research teams will work directly with Midjourney to build its tech into future AI models and products.
Wang stated:
“To ensure Meta is able to deliver the best possible products for people it will require taking an all-of-the-above approach,”
“This means world-class talent, ambitious compute roadmap, and working with the best players across the industry.”
This deal could boost Meta’s AI image and video offerings—already in products like Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger via tools like Imagine and Movie Gen. It puts Meta in closer competition with AI leaders like OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo.
Meta’s been aggressive lately: hiring AI talent with $100 million-plus packages, investing $14 billion in Scale AI, acquiring voice AI startup Play AI, and exploring further AI lab acquisitions. Zuckerberg even discussed joining Elon Musk’s $97 billion OpenAI takeover bid, which Meta skipped.
Midjourney CEO David Holz confirmed the startup remains independent with no external funding despite licensing the tech to Meta.
Midjourney was founded in 2022, quickly becoming a top AI image generation platform known for its unique style. The startup generated around $200 million in revenue by 2023 with subscription plans up to $120/month. It launched its first AI video model, V1, in June.
The partnership follows Midjourney’s recent legal headache: Disney and Universal sued the startup over AI training on copyrighted works. Meta faces similar copyright lawsuits but recent cases favor tech companies.
The terms of the Meta-Midjourney deal remain under wraps.
