Midjourney buys popular astrology app Co-Star
What's the story
Midjourney, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) lab known for its advanced image and video generators, has acquired the popular social astrology app Co-Star. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed yet. Co-Star, which has an estimated 4.3 million monthly active users, helps people create their astrological birth charts and share them with friends on the platform.
AI integration
Co-Star's AI-driven approach to astrology
Co-Star employs a blend of AI and human writing to generate horoscopes, compatibility assessments, and other advice based on users' astrological data.
The app is popular among those who turn to astrology for guidance and affirmation.
With this acquisition, Midjourney hopes to expand its product lineup beyond its existing LLM-powered image and video generators.
Future prospects
Midjourney to launch dedicated astrology image generator
Following the acquisition, Co-Star's team of 24 employees has joined Midjourney.
Midjourney plans to launch an astrology-focused image generator. This would be a first for the company as users currently need to be part of its Discord server to access their products.
Holz expressed his excitement about having Co-Star's founder Banu Guler and her team join Midjourney in a blog post announcing the acquisition.
New role
Guler's vision for the future
Following the acquisition, Guler will serve as Midjourney's chief design officer.
She shared her thoughts on the deal in a tweet, saying, "We're at a crazy moment in history."
Guler added that while many labs are focused on replacing humans with computers, she and Holz believe that computers can be tools revealing our humanity to ourselves.
This perspective could shape Midjourney's future product development strategies.