Stability AI Appoints New Leadership Amid Ongoing Innovations in Generative AI

Stability AI Appoints New CEO Following Leadership Change

Months after the tumultuous departure of founder and former CEO Emad Mostaque, Stability AI has announced a new full-time CEO.

Prem Akkaraju, the former CEO of visual effects powerhouse Weta Digital, is set to lead the generative AI startup. Since January 2020, Akkaraju has spearheaded Weta Digital and co-founded Screening Room. Stability AI did not provide an official comment on this appointment.

This development comes nearly three months after Mostaque resigned amid concerns from investors regarding the company’s financial viability. Following his exit in March, Chief Operating Officer Shan Shan Wong and Chief Technology Officer Christian Laforte stepped in as interim co-CEOs.

Concerns regarding Stability AI's financial health grew when a Reuters report on May 16 revealed the company lost over $30 million in the first quarter, generating less than $5 million in revenue. The same report indicated that Stability AI was seeking outside investment. According to The Information, alongside Akkaraju’s appointment, the company is also set to receive a cash infusion from a group of investors led by Sean Parker.

Expanding Stability AI’s Portfolio

In an increasingly competitive landscape, Stability AI is diversifying its offerings beyond image generation. While the company is renowned for its Stable Diffusion text-to-image technology, it also launched Stable Code earlier this year, which focuses on code generation. Stability AI's large language model, Stable LM, offers various model sizes, including 1.6 billion, 3 billion, and 7 billion parameters.

Furthermore, Stability AI is venturing into audio and video generation. The recent release of Stable Audio 2.0 on April 3 allows users to create up to three minutes of audio. Additionally, Stable Video includes text-to-video generation capabilities, with advancements in 3D generation through Stable Video 3D (SV3D).

To support these innovations, Stability AI introduced a membership model in December 2023, requiring organizations to pay for commercial use of its technology. While some model weights remain available under a non-commercial license, the company also provides API access based on usage. Users can utilize this API directly or through interfaces like the Stable Artisan Discord bot, launched on May 9.

Mostaque’s New Venture: Schelling AI

Although Stability AI has a new CEO, Emad Mostaque remains active in the AI landscape. He recently shared on X (formerly Twitter) that he is working on a new project called Schelling AI, which aims to support his vision for decentralized AI. More details about Schelling AI are expected in July.

This fresh leadership and renewed vision position Stability AI to navigate the complexities of the evolving AI market effectively.