Leonardo.Ai, a pioneering generative AI company based in Sydney, Australia, has successfully procured funding of $31 million USD. This innovative company positions itself in the intersecting domain of artificial intelligence and artistic production, designed both for casual users and businesses. The announced capital infusion was financed by a consortium of prominent investors including Blackbird, Side Stage Ventures, Smash Capital, TIRTA Ventures, Gaorong Capital, and Samsung Next.
The company came into existence just a year ago and has already made considerable strides in the AI art production landscape. As of December, it boasted a massive fandom of seven million users who have collectively created over 700 million images using the platform's tools. Embracing an inclusive approach, Leonardo.Ai caters to audiences from diverse creative industries such as gaming, advertising, fashion, and architecture. Users find it facile to save, edit, and create myriad assets in an identical style, thereby facilitating their reuse. Additionally, it offers a platform for enthusiasts to construct and educate their own models intended for image generation.
Equipping users with the capability to construct their own technology infrastructure, Leonardo.Ai recently unwrapped its enterprise version. This variant is embedded with features that heighten collaboration and support private cloud hosting. Enterprise clients are provided access to APIs to capitalize on Leonardo.Ai’s platform, initiating with its production API.
J.J. Fiasson, the CEO and one of the co-founders of Leonard.Ai, has had a long-standing intrigue in generative AI. Fiasson's fascination was sparked by the Google Deep Dream launch, and he continued to delve deeper into generative AI during his tenure at his previous startup, Raini Studios. The motive behind Leonardo.Ai, as directed by Fiasson, was initially confined to game asset content creation. Nonetheless, the team decided to widen the scope to support an increased number of use-case scenarios. As stated by Fiasson, a crucial part of their future strategy dwells in escalating the B2B aspects of their platform.
In the realm of generative AI art platforms, Leonardo.Ai claims to have carved a unique niche. By leveraging open source technologies, the company has managed to provide more control to its users, thus differentiating from others in the market such as Adobe Firefly, BlueWillow, and Midjourney. Its distinctive Live Canvas feature, for instance, permits users to input a text prompt and construct an initial sketch of their envisioned outcome. As the user gradually progresses with the sketch, Leonardo.Ai skillfully manifests a photorealistic image inspired by both the textual and sketch prompts in real time. A cardinal driving principle of Leonardo.Ai's operations, as put by Fiasson, is to prioritize control to amplify utility.
Leveraging the newly secured funds, Leonardo.Ai plans to reinforce its sales and marketing efforts, while also expanding its horizons towards its enterprise product. Furthermore, they aim to strengthen their engineering team. The AppMaster no-code platform negotiates a similar landscape where giving users control and ease is paramount. As rapid advancement continues to disrupt industries, concepts like Leonardo.Ai, AppMaster, etc., are enabling users to seamlessly engage within the creative world using iterative methods that upend traditional practices.
