Midjourney, a well-known AI image generation service, recently announced its entry into the hardware market and posted job postings on social media platform X, seeking hardware engineers to join its new team in San Francisco. This move has attracted widespread attention in the field of AI image generation, especially considering that Midjourney previously focused on software services. This transformation marks a major adjustment in its strategic layout. Information about its hardware products is currently unclear, but the joining of former Apple Vision Pro spatial computing headset hardware engineering manager Ahmad Abbas, and the company's hint that the new device is not a "pendant" design, have added mystery and expectations to future products.
Recently, the well-known AI image generation service Midjourney officially announced that it will enter the hardware device market. "We are officially getting into hardware. If you are interested in joining the new team in San Francisco, please email [email protected]," the company posted on social media platform
Regarding Midjourney's hardware plans, there is still relatively little information, and much of it is full of mystery. However, the news from the person in charge, David Holz, makes everyone look forward to future products.
Holz, the co-founder of Leap Motion and previously served as CTO of the hand tracking startup, revealed on social media that Midjourney has recruited Ahmad Abbas, the former hardware engineering manager of Apple's Vision Pro spatial computing headset, to lead the hardware department. Abbas will officially join Midjourney in December 2023.
It is worth noting that Midjourney said that the new device will not be a "pendant." The design of this early AI device, although popular, is generally not suitable for displaying detailed images. Instead, they hinted that the new device might be a form factor that needs to be "entered" for use, rather than wearable. This makes people more curious about its future hardware products.
Midjourney's entry into the hardware market coincides with increasingly fierce competition in the field of AI image generation. For example, Elon Musk's xAI has launched a new Grok2 model, and there are also new competitors such as Ideogram2, which can generate a variety of fonts and styles of text. To address these challenges, Midjourney updated its web interface last week, making it available to all users and offering 25 free image generation sessions.
Although exploration in the field of AI hardware is still in its early stages, and other startups such as Rabbit and Humane have encountered considerable difficulties, Midjourney's hardware plan is undoubtedly exciting. The market response to AI-driven hardware devices is not always as ideal as expected, but as the industry develops, this will change.
In addition, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Apple designer Jony Ive collaborating on AI hardware, the future hardware market may become more eye-catching.
Highlight:
Midjourney announced its official entry into the hardware field and the recruitment of new team members.
Former Apple engineering manager Ahmad Abbas will lead the hardware department, and the product form has not yet been disclosed.
?Facing increased competition, Midjourney updated its user interface and offered free image generation services to all users.
Midjourney's entry into the hardware market, its actions and future products are full of unknowns and challenges, but it also heralds a new development direction in the field of AI image generation. In the fiercely competitive market environment, Midjourney's innovative initiatives are worth looking forward to. Whether it will ultimately succeed remains to be tested by time.