The still very young AI image generator FLUX.1 performs better in tests than Midjourney and OpenAI. This has even attracted the attention of Elon Musk, the Freiburg-based start-up Black Forest Labs.
The Freiburg-based start-up Black Forest Labs only presented its AI image generator FLUX.1 at the beginning of August 2024. The AI system has now been used several million times, as Capital reported.
But the start-up behind the AI image generator is said to have only 14 employees and yet be able to compete with industry giants OpenAI and Midjourney.
What is behind the AI image generator FLUX.1?
The fastest version of the AI image generator from Black Forest Labs can create images from text descriptions in less than ten seconds. According to the company, the AI model even surpasses industry giants such as OpenAI and Midjourney.
In the so-called ELO score, which is used to test the performance of artificial intelligence, FLUX.1 performed better than the image generators DALL-E 3 from OpenAI and Midjourney V6.
The AI image generator Flux.1 comes in three different versions [pro], [dev] and [schnell]. At [pro] According to Black Forest Labs, it is “the best version of FLUX.1”.
Die Version [dev] is intended for non-commercial applications. FLUX.1 [schnell] As the name suggests, it is the fastest model of the AI image generator. It is tailored for local development and personal use.
“We are committed to creating the industry standard for generative media,” the company writes on its website. They are also currently working on a video generator.
At the cutting edge of AI research
The founders of Black Forest Labs are Andreas Blattmann, Patrick Esser and Robin Rombach. They have previously conducted research on AI at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
They are therefore no strangers to the scene. They were already involved in the code for the image generator Stable Diffusion. This was used in the British start-up Stability AI in 2022.
AI image generator available for X-Users
Black Forest Labs has already managed to attract a well-known partner with its AI image generator. The start-up has been working with Elon Musk's Twitter successor X since mid-August. Since then, FLUX.1 has been included as an image generator in X's premium subscription.
But it is not just the tech company X that is relying on the Freiburg start-up. Black Forest Labs was able to raise funds of 31 million US dollars in an initial financing round.
The US investment firms Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst were among those involved. Gary Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, was also involved in the financing round.
Also interesting:
Source: https://www.basicthinking.de/blog/2024/08/19/ki-bildgenerator-black-forest-labs/
