Summary

Synthetic media content marketplace Civitai has raised $5.1 million in a seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Civitai offers a digital hub for images and models produced through the open-source generative AI model Stable Diffusion, where creators can share their output and eventually even license their variant models.

Introduction

Civitai, a synthetic media content marketplace, has secured $5.1 million in a seed funding round. The funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz. The platform provides a digital space for creators to share their images and models generated by the open-source generative AI model Stable Diffusion. Creators can also license their variant models on the platform.

Main Points

Civitai allows members to upload their Stable Diffusion AI image models and allows others to experiment with them. Users can also upload example images to train custom AI models that match their preferred style. After an hour of processing, the new models are ready to generate original images.

The platform emphasizes the importance of detailed metadata to properly credit the prompts and resources used. However, Civitai has faced controversies regarding art being included without the consent of the artists. To address this, Civitai has established a copyright process to remove problematic resources. The platform also has strict guidelines against suggestive content and on-site image generation of real individuals without permission. Only 10% of user “bounties” involve actual people’s likenesses.

Civitai currently has 10 million monthly visitors and three million registered members. Approximately 7,000 new members join the platform each day. While Civitai is currently focused on Stable Diffusion, the platform aims to support multi-modal generative AI across text, images, video, and audio in the future. By the end of the year, new features such as revamped profiles, messaging, and an on-site image generator will be introduced.

Conclusion

Civitai, a synthetic media content marketplace, has raised $5.1 million in seed funding. The platform allows creators to share images and models generated through the open-source generative AI model Stable Diffusion. Civitai aims to provide a collaborative space for creators and builders to explore the potential of generative AI. The platform has gained millions of monthly visitors and registered members and plans to expand its support to various forms of generative AI in the future.