The Midjourney Transformation: AI Image Pioneer Moves into Medicine
The AI company Midjourney, which has become a profitable empire without external investors, reveals a revolutionary prototype for ultrasound body scanning. Will this move into the medical world succeed in changing the rules of the game?
Last June, David Holz, founder and CEO of Midjourney, took the stage in San Francisco to present a device that seemed far removed from the company's reputation for AI-generated imagery. Instead of a new model for creating visuals, Holz unveiled a water pool, a ring of sensors, and a platform for the subject. This is the Midjourney Scanner, a system designed to scan the entire body using ultrasound waves.
According to Midjourney's vision, the subject enters a shallow pool and stands on a platform that gradually descends into the water. As it descends, the body passes through a ring of sensors that transmit sound waves from multiple angles, capturing how they change after passing through skin, fat, muscles, bones, and organs. The data is processed into a detailed 3D map of the body, a process the company aims to shorten to 60 seconds.
This is not a commercial launch yet. Midjourney has presented a prototype and a development plan, not a medical device currently available for public booking. The scanner has not yet received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for diagnostic use. Initially, the company plans to offer body composition maps, seeking approvals for additional medical capabilities later. Claims that imaging quality may approach that of an MRI remain subject to trials and independent regulatory review.
Origins in a Chat Room
This medical pivot aligns with how Holz described the company at its inception. Founded in 2021 as an independent research lab, Midjourney was intended to explore imagination and human-computer interaction. Holz, who previously worked at NASA and the Max Planck Institute, had founded Leap Motion to develop gesture-tracking technology. Unlike that venture, Midjourney was built without external investors, allowing Holz to pursue long-term projects without the pressure of an exit strategy.
In July 2022, Midjourney launched its image generator via Discord. Its simple business model based on subscription fees led to rapid growth, with Discord servers now hosting over 21 million members. Estimates suggest the company's revenues crossed the $200 million mark in 2023 and reached about $300 million in 2024—an exceptional result for a private company with a small team.
Collaboration with Butterfly
The new scanner is being developed by Midjourney Medical in collaboration with Butterfly Network, a company specializing in chip-based ultrasound devices. The prototype incorporates 40 units of their Ultrasound on Chip technology. While Midjourney uses AI for image segmentation, the core reconstruction relies on hardware and massive computing power.
By the end of 2027, the company aims to open Midjourney Spa in San Francisco, a complex where scanning becomes a routine activity alongside saunas and hot tubs. The long-term goal is to reach over 50,000 scanners worldwide by 2031. However, experts warn of potential downsides: frequent scans of healthy individuals could lead to incidental findings, unnecessary anxiety, and invasive procedures, alongside concerns regarding data security and ownership.
Meanwhile, Midjourney's core business faces legal challenges. Hollywood studios, including Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros., have filed lawsuits alleging copyright infringement in the training of its models. Midjourney rejects these claims, arguing that model training constitutes fair use.
