Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron has joined the board of directors at London-founded Stability AI.
As a director, writer and producer, Cameron has pushed cinematic boundaries and brought to life some of the most iconic and technologically advanced films of all time, including The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (pictured), Aliens, The Abyss, Titanic and Avatar.
The company said Cameron’s addition represents a significant step forward in Stability AI’s mission to transform visual media.
Stability AI, which produces generative AI for imaging, language, code and audio, recently raised fresh funding and appointed a new-look executive team of industry heavyweights in what could be a lifeline for the business. The funding came from high-profile VCs and tech executives including Napster founder and former Facebook president Sean Parker, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Robert Nelsen and Prem Akkaraju.
Akkaraju, former CEO of visual effects company Weta Digital, was appointed CEO, while billionaire Parker is now executive chairman. It subsequently appointed entertainment industry veteran Hanno Basse to the position of CTO.
The appointments come months after the exit of founder and CEO Emad Mostaque as Stability AI struggled to generate anywhere near enough revenues to cover its cloud computing and other costs.
Reports suggested the investor group reached a deal with cloud providers and other suppliers to drop $100m it owed and a potential $300m in future obligations.
“James Cameron lives in the future and waits for the rest of us to catch up,” said Akkaraju. “Stability AI’s mission is to transform visual media for the next century by giving creators a full stack AI pipeline to bring their ideas to life.
“We have an unmatched advantage to achieve this goal with a technological and creative visionary like James at the highest levels of our company. This is not only a monumental statement for Stability AI, but the AI industry overall.
“The next frontier in visual media will be forged by a true fusion of artist and technology, and Stability AI is leading the charge.”
Stability AI says its open models are the most widely used foundational AI image models globally, fostering the largest ecosystem of creators and developers worldwide.
Cameron (pictured above), chair of LIGHTSTORM, said: “I’ve spent my career seeking out emerging technologies that push the very boundaries of what’s possible, all in the service of telling incredible stories. I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I’ve stayed on the cutting edge since.
“Now, the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave. The convergence of these two totally different engines of creation will unlock new ways for artists to tell stories in ways we could have never imagined. Stability AI is poised to lead this transformation.
“I’m delighted to collaborate with Sean, Prem, and the Stability AI team as they shape the future of all visual media.”
Parker added: “James Cameron is a legend – both for his artistic vision as a filmmaker and his role as a pioneering technologist.
“Having an artist of his calibre with a seat at the table marks the start of a new chapter for Stability AI. We’re incredibly excited by the limitless potential for creative collaboration between generative media platforms and the artistic community.”
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