In the midst of mounting pressure for CEO Emad Mostaque to resign and the departure of company VPs due to copyright concerns, UK-based artificial intelligence image developer Stability AI is reportedly considering a sale, as per a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday. The company is renowned for its widely-used Stable Diffusion generative AI model, which recently introduced video capabilities.
According to Bloomberg, American technology investment firm Coatue Management reached out to Stability AI in October, seeking information on executive compensation, notably that of Mostaque. Coatue expressed doubts about Mostaque’s leadership, citing his role in the departure of several senior managers.
Despite no confirmed buyers stepping forward, two potential suitors have emerged for Stability AI: AI marketing tool developer Jasper and Canadian AI developer Cohere, as reported by data analytics platform PYMNTS.
As of now, Stability AI has not responded to inquiries from Decrypt.
Stable Diffusion, unveiled in August 2022, leverages generative AI to produce images based on user inputs. Coatue reportedly valued Stability AI at $1 billion upon its launch.
Similar to Midjourney and Dall-E, Stable Diffusion has courted controversy for its association with AI-generated deepfakes of prominent figures and occurrences.
In a show of commitment to responsible AI development, Stability and Cohere joined the Biden Administration’s initiative in September. Moreover, Stability took part in the UK Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, England, in November, where a coalition of 29 nations and the European Union vowed to regulate AI development. However, despite signing the pledge, a senior executive’s resignation from Stability over disagreements on fair use principles underscored internal dissent.
Earlier this month, Stability’s VP of Audio, Ed Newton-Rex, stepped down due to ethical concerns surrounding the company’s use of copyrighted content to train AI models.
Newton-Rex, in a statement on Twitter, expressed his disagreement with Stability’s stance on utilizing copyrighted material without explicit consent, leading to his resignation.
In an interview with Decrypt, Newton-Rex highlighted the broader industry issue concerning the application of copyrighted works in generative AI models, emphasizing the need for ethical considerations and accountability across the sector.
