Stability AI is Raising Funds at a $4B Valuation, Introduces Stable Diffusion XL for Enterprises
Stability AI has released Stable Diffusion XL (SDXL), a new version of the popular open-source text-to-image AI model focusing on enterprise users and improvements in photorealism. According to the announcement:
SDXL is the latest addition to the Stable Diffusion suite of models offered through Stability’s APIs catered to enterprise developers. SDXL produces more detailed imagery and composition than its predecessor Stable Diffusion 2.1 and represents an important step forward in the lineage of Stability’s image generation models.
Highlights of SDXL’s capabilities include:
Next-level photorealism capabilities
Enhanced image composition and face generation
Rich visuals and jaw-dropping aesthetics
Use of shorter prompts to create descriptive imagery
Greater capability to produce legible text
SDXL also has functionality that extends beyond just text-to-image prompting, including image-to-image prompting (inputting one image to get variations of that image), inpainting (reconstructing missing parts of an image) and outpainting (constructing a seamless extension of an existing image).
This week Stability AI also added a Style Presets feature for users of its REST API. “Style presets are a way to apply pre-defined styles to your images.” The latest feature may appeal to enterprise users interested in maintaining brand consistency for their AI image generation projects or customers.
Tackling the Text Barrier
The “legible text” generation improvement is designed to address a glaring issue of all text-to-image generators. Midjourney 5 also mentioned upgrades in the text department, but it took a different approach. The latest Midjourney AI model is more likely to remove text during the image generation process, whereas SDXL attempts to make sure it is legible and coherent.
Adobe’s Firefly launch also mentioned the importance of text in its beta-stage AI image generation models, which is not surprising given the company’s user base. The AI image generation battle for hobbyists and independents rages on. Still, you can see in the moves by OpenAI and Coca-Cola, Adobe Firefly, Canva, and SDXL that the war for enterprise users is just getting started.
Stability AI Raising New Funds
Stability AI is also in the news for its latest fundraising activities. The company raised a $101 million “Seed” round in October at a reported valuation of $1 billion. Stability AI’s valuation may have quadrupled in just six months. Fortune reported last month:
The parent company of Stable Diffusion, an AI tool for making digital images, is seeking to raise money at a valuation of about $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked to not be identified because it isn’t public. It isn’t clear how much capital Stability AI Ltd. is seeking to raise in the potential round. A final decision hasn’t been made on whether to go ahead with the financing and the valuation could still change, the people added.
The new valuation may be based on rumors or wishful thinking, but generative AI valuations have grown faster than expectations over the past six months. Stable Diffusion also appears to be the most widely used image generation AI model with Stability AI the primary beneficiary of its popularity. And SDXL is designed to drive revenue from enterprises. That is the type of product shift that can expand the total serviceable market and valuation models.
