Midjourney just made its most unexpected move yet: the AI image generation powerhouse is acquiring Co-Star, the cult-favorite astrology app with tens of millions of users. The deal brings Co-Star founder and CEO Banu Guler into Midjourney as its new Chief Design Officer, tasked with building a cross-functional design, product, and frontend team. For a company that has spent its entire existence as a pure-play image model, this is a sharp turn toward consumer product ambitions.
Two very different companies, one surprising deal
Midjourney has never taken external funding and operates with roughly 40-45 employees, yet has built a $200M+ ARR business entirely through organic growth and reinvested profits. CEO David Holz has maintained that the company remains fully independent with no outside investors -- a rare posture in the AI gold rush. That financial independence is exactly what makes this acquisition possible: Midjourney can make unconventional bets without answering to a board.
Co-Star was founded in 2017 by Banu Guler, Anna Kopp, and Ben Weitzman, and raised approximately $21 million in funding, including a $15 million Series A led by Spark Capital in April 2021. It is a highly popular AI-powered astrology application known for its minimalist design and data-driven personality insights, generating detailed interpretations based on a user's exact birth data including date, time, and location. The acquisition price has not been disclosed.
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