Stability AI releases StableStudio in latest push for open-source AI – The Verge

Stability AI is releasing an open-source version of DreamStudio, a commercial interface for the companys AI image generator model, Stable Diffusion. In a press statement on Wednesday, Stability AI said the new release dubbed StableStudio marks a fresh chapter for the platform and will serve as a showcase for the companys dedication to advancing open-source development.

Making an open-source version of DreamStudio carries benefits for Stability AI. It allows community developers to improve and experiment with the interface, with the company potentially reaping the rewards conferred by these improvements. Stability AI stressed community building in its press release, noting how from enabling local-first development, to experimenting with a new plugin system, weve tried hard to make things extensible for external developers.

Stability AIs approach to open-source development has helped drive interest in its products

Stability AI has previously leaned hard on its open-source approach to create interest in its products. Various versions of Stable Diffusion have been freely available to download and tinker with since the model was publicly released back in August 2022, and last month, the company released a suite of open-source large language models (LLMs) collectively called StableLM. Stability AIs founder and CEO, Emad Mostaque, has been outspoken about the importance of making AI tools open source in order to increase public trust, claiming that open models will be essential for private data, in a Zoom call with the press last month.

However, the companys approach sometimes seems to lack direction, too. For example, StableStudio will be available alongside DreamStudio and potentially compete with it. The company has previously said it plans to generate revenue by creating customized versions of DreamStudio for corporate clients, but its not clear how successful this strategy has been. Recent reports suggest the firm is burning through cash and note that its most important models, like Stable Diffusion, were built in collaboration with other parties.

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Stability AI releases StableStudio in latest push for open-source AI - The Verge