Midjourney Co-Star acquisition brings astrology app founder into design role
Midjourney acquired Co-Star, bringing founder Banu Guler on to help create the AI company’s first apps, Bloomberg reported.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
2 min read
Midjourney’s Co-Star acquisition adds a consumer app to the AI company’s portfolio and brings Co-Star founder Banu Guler into a broader product role. Midjourney announced the deal Thursday, while Bloomberg reported that Guler will help the company build its first apps.
The financial terms were not disclosed. The deal closed in the spring, Bloomberg reported.
Co-Star is a free astrology app that gives users daily horoscopes and lets them compare compatibility with friends. Co-Star says in its FAQ that its personalized advice is based on a mix of human insight, NASA data and AI.
Why did Midjourney buy Co-Star?
Midjourney has not laid out a full strategic rationale for buying the astrology app. Midjourney founder David Holz told Bloomberg that Guler and her team will work on the company’s first apps, including one for image generation.
That makes the deal partly a talent move. Guler will continue running Co-Star after the acquisition, Holz said, and Bloomberg reported that she is also taking the title of chief design officer at Midjourney.
Midjourney is best known for AI image generation. The company has made its models available through the web and Discord, The Verge reported, rather than through its own standalone consumer apps.
What is Co-Star?
Co-Star is a personalized astrology service built around daily readings and social compatibility features. Its app lets users check horoscopes and compare astrological compatibility with people they know.
The company says its system uses astronomical data from NASA, AI and human input to produce personalized guidance. The app’s astrology focus gives Midjourney a consumer product outside its core image-generation tools.
What changes for Midjourney?
The immediate change is leadership and product development. Guler remains responsible for Co-Star while taking on a design role at Midjourney, according to Holz and Bloomberg.
Holz told Bloomberg that Midjourney is preparing its first apps, with image generation among them. The acquisition gives the company an app team with experience in consumer personalization, though Midjourney has not announced launch dates for those apps.
The deal comes as Midjourney’s work has expanded beyond the AI image tools that first made it widely known. The Verge previously reported on the company’s work involving full-body ultrasound scans, placing the Co-Star purchase alongside a broader push into new uses of AI.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.