Midjourney was founded in 2021 by David Holz, who previously co-founded Leap Motion (the hand-tracking device company). Based in San Francisco, Midjourney operates as a small, self-funded independent lab — notably, it hasn’t taken any venture capital funding, which is unusual in the AI space.
The service launched in open beta in July 2022 and quickly gained popularity for producing images with a distinctly artistic, painterly quality that set it apart from competitors. Midjourney is accessed primarily through Discord, where users type prompts in chat channels and receive generated images. This unconventional interface became part of its charm, creating a social experience around image generation.
By early 2023, Midjourney had over 16 million registered users on its Discord server, making it one of the largest Discord communities ever. The team behind it is remarkably small — reportedly around 40 people — yet it produces results that regularly compete with or beat much larger operations.
Midjourney’s model versions have improved dramatically, with V5 and V6 producing photorealistic images that stunned the creative community. The company generates significant revenue through subscriptions ($10-$120/month) and has been profitable without outside investment. A web interface was eventually added alongside the Discord bot. For artists, designers, and creative professionals, Midjourney has become a go-to tool for concept art, mood boards, and visual exploration.
