Stability AI raises $76M Series B from Universal, Warner, and Sony Music
What's the deal? Stability AI has raised a $76 million Series B round backed by the three largest record labels — Universal Music GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Warner Music GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Sony MusicDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — plus gaming company Electronic ArtsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. AMD VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Pacific Alliance VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → also joined, alongside returning investors Coatue, Greycroft, Kadmos CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Eric SchmidtDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Sean ParkerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? The round follows deals Stability struck with Universal, Warner, and Electronic ArtsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to build AI models trained on the companies' catalogues and intellectual property. It arrives as the music industry works out how to engage with AI generators first trained on unlicensed tracks.
By the numbers: The raise brings Stability's total funding to $232 million under chief executive officer Prem Akkaraju, who joined in June 2024. The Series B ranks in the 95th percentile by size among comparable Series B rounds in its market.
What's the endgame? Stability bills itself as "the leader in purpose-built AI products for professional creatives across music, gaming and entertainment." The London-founded startup, known for its open-source Stable Diffusion image model, has closed its London office and shifted its focus to the US. It will use the capital to develop its creative production suite, deepen research, and expand professional services.
The product: The funding follows the launch of Stable Audio 3.0, a family of open-weight music models trained on fully licensed data. Artists can use it through a new digital audio workstation plugin or directly on StableAudio.com.
The hire: Coatue co-founder Thomas Laffont has joined Stability's board, which also includes filmmaker James Cameron, Sean Parker, and Greycroft's Dana Settle. "While others are building generalized AI, Stability AI is building creative tools, and doing it alongside the artists, studios, and rights holders whose work defines the field," Laffont said.
The signal: By taking money from the three major labels and a top games publisher, Stability is betting that licensed data and industry alliances — not scale alone — will define competitive AI tools for creatives. "We are creative people making tools for creatives," Akkaraju said.
Read more: Variety, Tech.eu, stability.ai
Image credit: Stability AI
