Stability AI secured a much-needed investment and appointed Prem Akkaraju as CEO
Stability AI has secured major investment from top-tier institutions and tech leaders appointed new leadership including Prem Akkaraju as CEO and Sean Parker as Executive Chairman. The company plans to expand its generative AI offerings while maintaining its open-source commitment.
Stability AI recently announced a major investment by a combination of firms and individuals, including Greycroft, Coatue Management, Sound Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, O’Shaughnessy Ventures, and renowned operators and tech executives, including Sean Parker, Prem Akkaraju, Eric Schmidt, and Robert Nelsen. In parallel, the company welcomed Prem Akkaraju, former CEO of Weta Digital, as its new CEO. Sean Parker, former Facebook president, joins board members Dana Settle, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Greycroft, Colin Bryant, COO, General Partner of Coatue Management, and CEO Prem Akkaraju as Executive Chairman of Stability AI's board.
Rather than disclosing financial details such as the investment amount, the rest of the announcement emphasizes the popularity of the company's models, noting that Stable Diffusion has seen widespread adoption with over 150 million total downloads. Similarly, Stable Diffusion 3 has garnered over 2 million downloads since its launch less than a month ago, signaling a strong interest in Stability AI's technology. Going forward, the company will continue to foster its open-source community and take action to ensure it remains profitable by expanding in four key areas: managed pipelines for developers, custom enterprise models, content creation tools, and B2C applications for generative art and design.
Other reports have already placed the invested amount at $80 million, in what is essentially a takeover of the company. The investors have also reportedly negotiated a $100 million debt forgiveness and a release from $300 million in future obligations so Stability AI can stay afloat.
