Midjourney
FeaturedAn independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought.
Founded in 2021 by David Holz, the co-founder of Leap Motion, Midjourney is one of the most influential AI companies of the past decade despite being one of the smallest and most unconventional. The company operates as a lean, self-funded research lab with under 50 employees and no external venture capital funding — yet has generated over $200 million in annual revenue from subscriptions. Midjourney's image generation model, accessed entirely through Discord, became a cultural phenomenon in 2022 when it was used to create the AI-generated art that won the Colorado State Fair art competition and sparked a worldwide debate about AI creativity. The platform has over 20 million users and its images have appeared in major publications, advertising campaigns, and Hollywood productions.
Active Founders
David Holz
Founder / CEO
David Holz is the founder and CEO of Midjourney. He previously co-founded Leap Motion, a hand-tracking hardware company backed by $100 million in venture funding. David founded Midjourney as a self-funded research lab with the philosophical mission of expanding human imagination rather than building a traditional venture-backed startup. His unconventional approach — no VC money, no marketing budget, tiny team — and the stunning quality of Midjourney's images made it one of the most talked-about AI products in the world.
Midjourney