Meta Strikes Partnership with Midjourney to Boost AI Media Generation

Meta has announced a new partnership with Midjourney, a leading AI startup known for its advanced image and video generation tools. The collaboration aims to bring Midjourney's innovative technology into Meta's future AI models and products, expanding the company's capabilities in generative media.

What the Partnership Means

Announced by Meta's Chief AI Officer, Alexandr Wang, the agreement will see Meta's research teams working closely with Midjourney to integrate its technology across Meta's suite of AI products. According to Wang, "to ensure Meta is able to deliver the best possible products for people, it will require taking an all-of-the-above approach. This means world-class talent, ambitious compute roadmap, and working with the best players across the industry."

• Enhancing Meta’s AI Offerings: The partnership is expected to significantly strengthen Meta's position in the competitive AI image and video generation space, helping it keep pace with industry leaders like OpenAI's Sora, Black Forest Lab’s Flux, and Google’s Veo.
• Building on Existing Tools: Meta already has its own AI image generation tool, Imagine, integrated into Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. It also offers Movie Gen, an AI video tool that creates videos from text prompts.

Strategic Moves in the AI Race

This deal is the latest in a series of bold moves by Meta to lead in AI innovation. Earlier this year, the company:

• Launched a hiring spree for AI talent, offering compensation packages up to $100 million for top researchers
• Invested $14 billion in Scale AI
• Acquired Play AI, a startup specializing in AI voice technology

Meta has also been involved in discussions with other major AI labs for potential acquisitions and was reportedly in talks to join Elon Musk’s bid for OpenAI, though it ultimately did not participate.

About Midjourney

Founded in 2022, Midjourney quickly gained prominence for its unique, realistic AI-generated images. By 2023, the company was on track to generate $200 million in revenue, offering subscription plans that range from $10 to $120 per month. In June 2025, Midjourney launched its first AI video model, V1, further expanding its offerings.

The startup remains independent, with CEO David Holz confirming that Midjourney has no outside investors. At one point, Meta reportedly considered acquiring Midjourney, but the company has chosen to stay autonomous.

Challenges Ahead

The partnership comes amid ongoing legal scrutiny. Just two months ago, Disney and Universal filed lawsuits against Midjourney, alleging unauthorized use of copyrighted content to train its models. Similar lawsuits have targeted other AI developers, including Meta. However, recent court decisions have often favored technology companies in these disputes.

What’s Next?

Details of Meta's licensing agreement with Midjourney have not been disclosed. Still, this collaboration is a clear signal of Meta’s ambition to be a frontrunner in generative AI, offering advanced tools to both businesses and individual users worldwide.

References

• Meta partners with Midjourney on AI image and video models (Threads post)
• TechCrunch: Meta partners with Midjourney on AI image and video models
• David Holz on X: Midjourney remains independent
• AI-native startups pass $15 billion annualized revenue (The Information)
• Midjourney launches its first AI video generation model V1 (TechCrunch)
• Disney and Universal sue Midjourney (TechCrunch)
• Federal judge sides with Meta in lawsuit over training AI models on copyrighted books (TechCrunch)