Published text

Structured research records

1. the leap-motion decade · midjourney-eras · 2008–2021 (approximate)

   Original location

   Original structured fields

   {
     "id": "leap",
     "range": "2008–2021",
     "summary": "the prehistory — holz and buckwald spend twelve years building leap motion's hand tracking, rebuff apple twice, and sell to ultrahaptics for ~$30m.",
     "title": "the leap-motion decade"
   }

2. the lab opens · midjourney-eras · 2021–2022 (approximate)

   Original location

   Original structured fields

   {
     "id": "founding",
     "range": "2021–2022",
     "summary": "a self-funded lab opens a discord server — v1 in closed beta, the economist cover, open beta, and the state-fair win that starts the argument.",
     "title": "the lab opens"
   }

3. photorealism and the backlash · midjourney-eras · 2023 (year)

   Original location

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   {
     "id": "viral",
     "range": "2023",
     "summary": "v5 photorealism, the pope and the trump-arrest fakes, the andersen class action, the copyright office — and the $200m no-vc profile.",
     "title": "photorealism and the backlash"
   }

4. off discord island · midjourney-eras · 2023–2024 (approximate)

   Original location

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   {
     "id": "platform",
     "range": "2023–2024",
     "summary": "the style-list leak, the stability ban, rooms and personalization, the alpha site opening to everyone — the escape from discord island.",
     "title": "off discord island"
   }

5. video, lawsuits, and the scanner · midjourney-eras · 2025– (approximate)

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   {
     "id": "worlds",
     "range": "2025–",
     "summary": "v7 and v8, the video model, disney/universal and warner bros. in court — then the 'secret hardware project' turns out to be a medical scanner and a union square spa.",
     "title": "video, lawsuits, and the scanner"
   }

6. the first hand-tracking prototypes · midjourney-timeline · 2008 (year) · reported (original editorial confidence)

   Original location · source-e4050b86d8a757c231a3

   Original structured fields

   {
     "confidence": "reported",
     "date": "2008",
     "detail": "holz builds his first hand-tracking prototypes while an applied-math phd student at unc — the research that becomes leap motion.",
     "era": "leap",
     "id": "evt-leap-prototypes",
     "sourceIds": [
       "src-hp-wikipedia-leapmotion"
     ],
     "title": "the first hand-tracking prototypes"
   }

7. ocuspec founded · midjourney-timeline · 2010 (year) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

   Original location · source-80720a58242ca127c81d · source-e4050b86d8a757c231a3

   Original structured fields

   {
     "confidence": "confirmed",
     "date": "2010",
     "detail": "holz and michael buckwald — friends since middle school in southern florida — arrive in san francisco 'with two 30-pound backpacks,' build a radio-shack-parts prototype, and pitch vcs. the company is founded as ocuspec inc.",
     "era": "leap",
     "id": "evt-ocuspec",
     "sourceIds": [
       "src-hp-inc-leap-2013",
       "src-hp-wikipedia-leapmotion"
     ],
     "title": "ocuspec founded"
   }

8. the $1.3m seed · midjourney-timeline · 2011-06 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

   Original location · source-13813951da7313df41ff

   Original structured fields

   {
     "confidence": "confirmed",
     "date": "2011-06",
     "detail": "ocuspec raises a $1.3m seed from andreessen horowitz, founders fund, sosv, and angels including brian mcclendon and bill warner — warner later resurfaces on midjourney's advisor list.",
     "era": "leap",
     "id": "evt-ocuspec-seed",
     "sourceIds": [
       "src-hp-techcrunch-ocuspec-2011"
     ],
     "title": "the $1.3m seed"
   }

9. renamed leap motion · midjourney-timeline · 2012-05-09 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

   Original location · source-a9a7358042c1140428df

   Original structured fields

   {
     "confidence": "confirmed",
     "date": "2012-05-09",
     "detail": "ocuspec becomes leap motion with a $12.75m series a led by highland capital — 'wants to change the future of human-computer interaction.'",
     "era": "leap",
     "id": "evt-leap-rename",
     "sourceIds": [
       "src-hp-techcrunch-leapmotion-2012"
     ],
     "title": "renamed leap motion"
   }

10. series b — and the first apple approach · midjourney-timeline · 2013-01 (month) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e4050b86d8a757c231a3 · source-53a2e17115391368b1d8

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2013-01",
      "detail": "a $30m series b lands at a reported ~$306m peak valuation. around the same time apple makes its first acquisition approach; holz reportedly tells the reps their technology 'sucked.' the quotes are anonymous-sourced — holz never confirmed them.",
      "era": "leap",
      "id": "evt-leap-seriesb",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-wikipedia-leapmotion",
        "src-hp-bi-apple-leap-2018"
      ],
      "title": "series b — and the first apple approach"
    }

11. the controller ships · midjourney-timeline · 2013-07 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e4050b86d8a757c231a3 · source-a634fe2c1b2d48685578

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2013-07",
      "detail": "the ~$80 leap motion controller ships — a small sensor doing precise hand and finger tracking. holz calls it 'inventing a lot of the gestural interface space.' orion vr tracking and the open-source project north star headset follow.",
      "era": "leap",
      "id": "evt-leap-controller",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-wikipedia-leapmotion",
        "src-hp-verge-holz-2022"
      ],
      "title": "the controller ships"
    }

12. the second apple deal collapses · midjourney-timeline · 2018 (year) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-53a2e17115391368b1d8 · source-2ecbc58eaf389e95697a

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2018",
      "detail": "apple's second acquisition attempt — a reported $30–50m, roughly a tenth of peak valuation — collapses 'just days before' close. business insider's account leans on anonymous employees, including the famous 'they're the devil' quote holz never publicly confirmed.",
      "era": "leap",
      "id": "evt-apple-2018",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-bi-apple-leap-2018",
        "src-hp-9to5mac-apple-2018"
      ],
      "title": "the second apple deal collapses"
    }

13. sold to ultrahaptics — becomes ultraleap · midjourney-timeline · 2019-05-30 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-328bf940c604d4176e70 · source-5ea0171f8508fd50d17e · source-ff72f2ca789e31d9cb90

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2019-05-30",
      "detail": "uk mid-air-haptics firm ultrahaptics acquires leap motion for ~$30m / £23.4m and renames the combined company ultraleap. buckwald departs; holz stays on as cto. 'we've been working with ultrahaptics for nearly six years.'",
      "era": "leap",
      "id": "evt-ultraleap",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-ipgroup-ultraleap-2019",
        "src-hp-verge-ultraleap-2019",
        "src-hp-gamesbeat-ultraleap-2019"
      ],
      "title": "sold to ultrahaptics — becomes ultraleap"
    }

14. holz leaves; midjourney founded · midjourney-timeline · 2021-08 (month) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-832918471f767301c8e6 · source-1cce95099040f925fe01 · source-cea4aab0136f236e662d · source-24b40f2c74fa84a5fa48

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2021-08",
      "detail": "holz leaves ultraleap and founds midjourney in san francisco — 'a home for the next 10 years to work on cool projects.' the technical trigger: watching language understanding and image generation converge, especially katherine crowson's clip-guided diffusion. his linkedin says aug 2021; an sf business registry lists a start date of 2020-09-16 — the discrepancy stays open.",
      "era": "leap",
      "id": "evt-holz-departs",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-register-holz-2022",
        "src-hp-linkedin-holz",
        "src-hp-contrary-midjourney",
        "src-hp-opengovus-midjourney"
      ],
      "title": "holz leaves; midjourney founded"
    }

15. first model tests · midjourney-timeline · 2021-09 (month) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-cea4aab0136f236e662d · source-a634fe2c1b2d48685578

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2021-09",
      "detail": "the first image-model tests and a private demo — 'we started off testing the raw technology in september last year.'",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-first-tests",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-contrary-midjourney",
        "src-hp-verge-holz-2022"
      ],
      "title": "first model tests"
    }

16. v1 in closed discord beta · midjourney-timeline · 2022-02 (month) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-ceb246d7b8874833b5a3

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2022-02",
      "detail": "v1 runs in a closed discord beta — roughly 500 users, each allowed to invite one more. holz asks them to share the outputs on social media; the open-channels design is the distribution strategy from day one.",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-v1-beta",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-aituts-versions"
      ],
      "title": "v1 in closed discord beta"
    }

17. the discord server opens · midjourney-timeline · 2022-03-14 (day) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e855092ad5bf334f7232

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2022-03-14",
      "detail": "the midjourney discord server opens — the date wikipedia itself flags citation-needed. it will become the largest server the platform has ever hosted.",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-discord-opens",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-wikipedia-midjourney"
      ],
      "title": "the discord server opens"
    }

18. v2 and the paid beta · midjourney-timeline · 2022-04-12 (day) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e855092ad5bf334f7232 · source-ceb246d7b8874833b5a3

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2022-04-12",
      "detail": "v2 ships with upscale and variation buttons, and the paid beta begins — subscriptions before the product leaves discord.",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-v2-paid",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-wikipedia-midjourney",
        "src-hp-aituts-versions"
      ],
      "title": "v2 and the paid beta"
    }

19. the economist cover · midjourney-timeline · 2022-06-11 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-45818602e25a1f874a6e · source-7a3adf51f6fd6e726929 · source-a17ee733bdc3723eca5c

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-06-11",
      "detail": "the economist puts a midjourney-generated collage on its cover for a foundation-models special report — nearly 250 prompts, ~1,000 images. the legitimizing moment, weeks before the open beta. (the cosmopolitan ai cover the same month was dall·e 2 — the two are routinely conflated.)",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-economist-cover",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-economist-cover",
        "src-ci-economist-foundation-models",
        "src-ci-adweek-cosmo"
      ],
      "title": "the economist cover"
    }

20. open beta · midjourney-timeline · 2022-07-12 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e855092ad5bf334f7232 · source-532c721cbde5708e656c · source-e329f894bb116ebeb9c4 · source-2e5255219109b3d97d63

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-07-12",
      "detail": "open beta — anyone can join the discord and generate. 'we don't know if our servers are ready, but we're ready to find out.'",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-open-beta",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-wikipedia-midjourney",
        "src-ci-itdoeswhatnow-beta",
        "src-ci-pcworld-open-beta",
        "src-ci-vice-midjourney-inside"
      ],
      "title": "open beta"
    }

21. v3 — and the biggest server on discord · midjourney-timeline · 2022-07-25 (day) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e855092ad5bf334f7232 · source-ceb246d7b8874833b5a3

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2022-07-25",
      "detail": "v3 ships with --stylize and --quality; the discord passes ~1m members — reportedly overtaking the fortnite and minecraft servers.",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-v3",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-wikipedia-midjourney",
        "src-hp-aituts-versions"
      ],
      "title": "v3 — and the biggest server on discord"
    }

22. the interview blitz · midjourney-timeline · 2022-08 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-a634fe2c1b2d48685578 · source-832918471f767301c8e6 · source-93f087bc7bde18d2a753

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-08",
      "detail": "the interview blitz — verge, register, forbes — coincides with opening the bot to any discord server ('the midjourney multiverse'). holz tells the register the ~10-person company is 'already profitable, and we're fine.'",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-interview-blitz",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-verge-holz-2022",
        "src-hp-register-holz-2022",
        "src-ci-forbes-holz"
      ],
      "title": "the interview blitz"
    }

23. the state-fair win · midjourney-timeline · 2022-08-26 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-6cc68edf3ea939558e09 · source-e657d36270894d2c016f · source-72259db6a64592035934 · source-7cb598b007aadba7b34f

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-08-26",
      "detail": "jason allen's 'théâtre d'opéra spatial' — made with midjourney, submitted under 'jason m. allen via midjourney' — wins the colorado state fair's digital-art category and a $300 ribbon. vice amplifies it days later; allen's sharper line lands via kevin roose: 'ai won. humans lost.'",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-state-fair",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-wapo-state-fair",
        "src-ci-westword-state-fair",
        "src-ci-wikipedia-theatre",
        "src-ci-linkedin-roose"
      ],
      "title": "the state-fair win"
    }

24. the consent answer · midjourney-timeline · 2022-09-16 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-93f087bc7bde18d2a753 · source-388ccb0493a5b391b6f9 · source-8dc3aa0d961ef9c36bf6

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-09-16",
      "detail": "asked by forbes whether he sought living artists' consent, holz answers 'no. there isn't really a way to get a hundred million images and know where they're coming from.' the candor recirculates in december and ends up quoted in the plaintiffs' filings.",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-forbes-consent",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-forbes-holz",
        "src-ci-petapixel-consent",
        "src-hp-hollywoodreporter-disney-2025"
      ],
      "title": "the consent answer"
    }

25. v4 — and niji・journey · midjourney-timeline · 2022-11-05 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e855092ad5bf334f7232 · source-47f2623e2943baa89243 · source-720fd296727d90b59893

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-11-05",
      "detail": "v4 alpha ships on a new codebase — models trained on google tpus from here on. the same month, niji・journey enters closed beta with spellbrush, the sf/tokyo studio behind waifu labs.",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-v4-niji",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-wikipedia-midjourney",
        "src-hp-gigazine-niji-2022",
        "src-hp-yc-spellbrush"
      ],
      "title": "v4 — and niji・journey"
    }

26. the artstation revolt · midjourney-timeline · 2022-12-14 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-a48340df7c4e59e76a8d · source-23708b3a809e5bc7bcdb · source-edcdac21053b2f0d95b8

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-12-14",
      "detail": "'no to ai generated images' — alexander nanitchkov's protest image, amplified by nicholas kole, floods artstation's front page with 2,000+ posts. artstation makes its noai tag opt-in rather than default, which keeps the story alive.",
      "era": "founding",
      "id": "evt-artstation",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-ars-artstation",
        "src-ci-verge-artstation",
        "src-ci-vice-artstation"
      ],
      "title": "the artstation revolt"
    }

27. the class action · midjourney-timeline · 2023-01-13 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-0a1a3b8876f82e1da7a1 · source-694a949034d91457af05 · source-a340437a70e8644a38b7

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-01-13",
      "detail": "andersen v. stability ai filed in n.d. cal. — sarah andersen, kelly mckernan, and karla ortiz name stability, midjourney, and deviantart over laion-5b scraping. 'no consent, no credit, and no compensation.'",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-andersen-filed",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-reuters-andersen-filed",
        "src-ci-andersen-complaint",
        "src-hp-cartoonbrew-andersen-2023"
      ],
      "title": "the class action"
    }

28. zarya of the dawn · midjourney-timeline · 2023-02-21 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-155c612440698c8762a8 · source-f841044d4c3034cea1a3 · source-9ca48f738810aa00a55f

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-02-21",
      "detail": "the copyright office moves to cancel the zarya of the dawn registration: kashtanova's text and arrangement stay protected, but the midjourney-generated images 'are not the product of human authorship.' the first big doctrinal line.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-zarya",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-usco-zarya-letter",
        "src-ci-reuters-zarya",
        "src-ci-wsj-zarya"
      ],
      "title": "zarya of the dawn"
    }

29. v5 — and a print magazine · midjourney-timeline · 2023-03-15 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-c30e006a472003df4404 · source-ada28d75650ee20e8ee1 · source-c80cd1565e27a45ef0ea · source-853a607b3dee8369e802

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-03-15",
      "detail": "v5 alpha ships — 2× resolution, a wider stylistic range, and five-fingered hands 'most of the time.' the same day, midjourney announces a $4/mo print magazine of top community images. 'we thought it would be fun, and the community agreed, so we did it.'",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-v5-magazine",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-ars-v5",
        "src-ci-techspot-v5",
        "src-hp-forbes-magazine-2023",
        "src-hp-gizmodo-magazine-2023"
      ],
      "title": "v5 — and a print magazine"
    }

30. the pope and the perp walk · midjourney-timeline · 2023-03 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-d430eb0c7f2b16a21667 · source-aa644fd9f1eeea3c683d · source-7c534720c69b5cebbb39 · source-ba6a32d5621e9deb2ff5

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-03",
      "detail": "the trump-arrest and balenciaga-pope fakes go viral on v5. eliot higgins posts ~50 synthetic perp-walk images and reports himself banned; 'arrested' and trump-family names get blocked. nbc calls the pope 'one of the first instances of wide-scale misinformation' from ai.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-pope-trump",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-buzzfeed-trump-ban",
        "src-ci-verge-pope",
        "src-ci-nbc-pope",
        "src-ci-ars-trump-ban"
      ],
      "title": "the pope and the perp walk"
    }

31. free trials suspended · midjourney-timeline · 2023-03-30 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-5eb413eb61fd09f5463f · source-f0c989785e87fd4e0ce6 · source-3e01ff96d92dede1875d · source-d657c479de85d3685c12

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-03-30",
      "detail": "free trials suspended — holz's discord post cites 'extraordinary demand and trial abuse'; he later blames 'massive amounts of people making throwaway accounts' traced to a viral how-to video in china plus a gpu shortage, calling the deepfake link 'a misunderstanding.' trials stay off for over a year.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-trials-halted",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-verge-free-trial",
        "src-ci-engadget-free-trial",
        "src-ci-gizmodo-free-trial",
        "src-ci-pcmag-free-trial"
      ],
      "title": "free trials suspended"
    }

32. /describe · midjourney-timeline · 2023-04-04 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-be0549d6f0dc56f35ba6 · source-ceb246d7b8874833b5a3

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-04-04",
      "detail": "/describe ships — image-to-text, the reverse direction. niji 5 lands the same month.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-describe",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-petapixel-describe-2023",
        "src-hp-aituts-versions"
      ],
      "title": "/describe"
    }

33. the china episode · midjourney-timeline · 2023-05-15 (day) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-0ec3514a4f2dc60f6245 · source-431e4400bacb226db026

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2023-05-15",
      "detail": "the 'midjourney china' episode: a wechat post from a nanjing joint venture announces a qq-based beta, then deletes it — while april office-hours notes had mentioned qq expansion and channel admins reportedly confirmed a closed beta. the status stays murky in all reporting.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-china-qq",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-techcrunch-mjchina-2023",
        "src-hp-scmp-mjchina-2023"
      ],
      "title": "the china episode"
    }

34. v5.2, --weird, and pan · midjourney-timeline · 2023-06-22 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-f18f4941b0a432f241c8 · source-3a1e0e39aeb3608bc397 · source-c7af324f5c6656638a0a

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-06-22",
      "detail": "v5.2 — zoom-out outpainting, /shorten, high-variation mode, reworked aesthetics. '--weird 0–3000' and pan expansion follow within weeks.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-v52",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-arstechnica-v52-2023",
        "src-hp-decoder-weird-2023",
        "src-hp-forbes-weird-pan-2023"
      ],
      "title": "v5.2, --weird, and pan"
    }

35. the name, explained · midjourney-timeline · 2023-07-07 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-b7226d6bd8c7d3fbeffa · source-8ca99368295febc6d243

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-07-07",
      "detail": "holz tells shanghai's world ai conference the name comes from a favorite translation of zhuangzi — 中道, 'mid-journey': 'we come from this rich and beautiful past, and ahead of us is this wild and unimaginable… future.'",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-waic-name",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-qq-waic",
        "src-hp-officechai-name"
      ],
      "title": "the name, explained"
    }

36. the $200m profile · midjourney-timeline · 2023-09-05 (day) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-75f877932666d3cb4ac2 · source-e35c54fee9742a9c7445 · source-900babadbce23b809d30 · source-b15e010fcedec97dc217

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2023-09-05",
      "detail": "the information's profile reports midjourney on pace to surpass $200m revenue in 2023, profitable 'since early on,' ~40 employees, no vc — holz compares the model to craigslist. every figure is reported or self-reported; nothing is audited.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-information-200m",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-the-information-vc",
        "src-hp-parekh-2023",
        "src-hp-decoder-200m-2023",
        "src-ci-bigtechwire-200m"
      ],
      "title": "the $200m profile"
    }

37. dismissed, with leave to amend · midjourney-timeline · 2023-10-30 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-011c4b809cfaba680f1d · source-0a0f7116ff29eb48bb54

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-10-30",
      "detail": "judge orrick largely dismisses the first andersen complaint with leave to amend — the same day holz gives the uist '23 keynote in san francisco.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-orrick-dismiss",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-crowell-andersen-2023",
        "src-hp-uist-holz-2023"
      ],
      "title": "dismissed, with leave to amend"
    }

38. the amended complaint · midjourney-timeline · 2023-11-29 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-a3b16e84290146f22c0b · source-9982f38201765e90bdf1

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-11-29",
      "detail": "the amended complaint adds seven artists — including rutkowski, brom, and zhang — plus defendant runway, and a lanham act false-endorsement claim aimed specifically at midjourney's artist-name prompting.",
      "era": "viral",
      "id": "evt-andersen-amended",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-fac-complaint",
        "src-hp-reuters-andersen-2023"
      ],
      "title": "the amended complaint"
    }

39. the alpha site · midjourney-timeline · 2023-12-12 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-2b2ca92bc4c72113e74e · source-c653556486eb145476e1

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-12-12",
      "detail": "the alpha website opens to users with 10,000+ generations — the first real step off discord after nearly two years.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-alpha-site",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-petapixel-alpha-2023",
        "src-hp-techco-alpha-2023"
      ],
      "title": "the alpha site"
    }

40. v6 alpha · midjourney-timeline · 2023-12-21 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-af4e2f996537f0823200 · source-c848fbc51d7e72922458 · source-8796048221a88e3f69e2 · source-1945c9ce7963040eca25

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-12-21",
      "detail": "v6 alpha — the third model 'trained from scratch on our ai superclusters,' nine months of training, with 'minor text drawing ability' and overhauled prompting. the discord is at 17m+ members.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-v6",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-venturebeat-v6",
        "src-ci-ars-v6",
        "src-ci-decrypt-v6",
        "src-ci-midlibrary-v6"
      ],
      "title": "v6 alpha"
    }

41. the hardware hire · midjourney-timeline · 2023-12 (month) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-98214b3df031aeb391f6 · source-535935ca19f91bcd66bc · source-baacbd0dcdb327ea3204

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2023-12",
      "detail": "ahmad abbas joins as head of hardware — revealed in february: ex-apple vision pro engineering manager, ex-neuralink, ex-leap motion. the early focus is 3d data capture; 'orb' is the reported project nickname.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-abbas",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-decoder-orb-hire",
        "src-hp-hindu-abbas-2024",
        "src-hp-linkedin-abbas"
      ],
      "title": "the hardware hire"
    }

42. the style list leaks · midjourney-timeline · 2024-01-02 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-6c952b26911bd281e2a0 · source-be6fb6890ed9d7edee88 · source-fb79c9e7090deafa41ba · source-54e413ec579db8df12f8

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-01-02",
      "detail": "the 'midjourney style list' goes viral — a ~16,000-name sheet of artists midjourney can mimic, allegedly shared by holz in the public discord in 2022, lands next to a 4,700-name court exhibit filed as exhibit j. kahlo, kusama, warhol, rockwell, wes anderson, disney.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-style-list",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-artnews-list",
        "src-ci-artnewspaper-list",
        "src-ci-nbc-list",
        "src-ci-exhibit-j"
      ],
      "title": "the style list leaks"
    }

43. niji 6 and --sref · midjourney-timeline · 2024-01-29 (day) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-1045b0fb13a41a870c0a

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2024-01-29",
      "detail": "niji 6 alpha ships; style reference --sref follows days later — the anime line becomes where new reference features surface first.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-niji6-sref",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-medium-niji6-2024"
      ],
      "title": "niji 6 and --sref"
    }

44. the stability ban · midjourney-timeline · 2024-03-06 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-639429e3c999c3f5056c · source-c54ff79e4c9146042bb5 · source-675181fd7e77a5f36246

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-03-06",
      "detail": "a ~24-hour outage is blamed on 'botnet-like activity' from paid accounts linked to a stability ai data-team member 'trying to grab all the prompt and image pairs in the middle of a night on saturday.' at that week's office hours midjourney bans all stability employees indefinitely; mostaque denies intentional scraping. nick st. pierre's relay is how the news surfaces.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-stability-ban",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-verge-stability-2024",
        "src-hp-ars-stability-2024",
        "src-hp-petapixel-stability-2024"
      ],
      "title": "the stability ban"
    }

45. --cref · midjourney-timeline · 2024-03-12 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-975234de4ab569da4f53 · source-023d38f89acda2aa8d62

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-03-12",
      "detail": "character reference --cref ships — persistent characters across generations, the feature comic and storyboard artists had been asking for.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-cref",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-mjupdates-cref-2024",
        "src-hp-petapixel-cref-2024"
      ],
      "title": "--cref"
    }

46. the world-simulation roadmap · midjourney-timeline · 2024-03-20 (day) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-bddec68941101f2ca7ce

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2024-03-20",
      "detail": "office hours: 'we're really trying to get to the world simulation. we're building 3d midjourney, video mj, & real-time mj where things move really really fast' — build each independently, then merge into 'the open world sandbox.' the roadmap said out loud; no official transcript exists.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-worldsim",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-tomsguide-worldsim-2024"
      ],
      "title": "the world-simulation roadmap"
    }

47. rooms · midjourney-timeline · 2024-05-24 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e712ed25b12841456fb5

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-05-24",
      "detail": "rooms — private collaborative web spaces for users past 100 images, mirrored to discord channels. the community moves to midjourney's own property.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-rooms",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-mjupdates-rooms-2024"
      ],
      "title": "rooms"
    }

48. personalization · midjourney-timeline · 2024-06-12 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-3191b4661d4ee21e19da · source-7c163525304b3bd93737

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-06-12",
      "detail": "model personalization --p ships — every user can tune the model by pair-ranking images. taste becomes a stored per-user artifact.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-personalization",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-midjourney-v6-personalization",
        "src-hp-tomsguide-personalize-2024"
      ],
      "title": "personalization"
    }

49. v6.1 · midjourney-timeline · 2024-07-31 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-eaaec66f662bfa7eee3d · source-52bc000c6068356d7c84

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-07-31",
      "detail": "v6.1 — coherence, skin, small faces, ~25% faster, new upscalers; made default the same day.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-v61",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-mj-v61",
        "src-ci-tomsguide-v61"
      ],
      "title": "v6.1"
    }

50. discovery opens · midjourney-timeline · 2024-08-12 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-0a7c6665bf1f7fa53bf8 · source-892b823887953e9490ee · source-aeae79ed04815df68bc9 · source-c453f48f8db69a8d465c

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-08-12",
      "detail": "orrick lets the copyright and lanham act claims against midjourney proceed to discovery — including the ~4,700-name 'midjourney style list' as evidence — while dmca claims die with prejudice. orrick: plausible the tools were 'created to facilitate that infringement by design.'",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-orrick-discovery",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-reuters-orrick",
        "src-ci-ars-orrick",
        "src-hp-verge-andersen-2024",
        "src-ci-orrick-order"
      ],
      "title": "discovery opens"
    }

51. the web opens to all · midjourney-timeline · 2024-08-21 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-629aeb723ed0b7eae206 · source-64cc77e06b50bd065aaa · source-e78748410502d6eb31ab

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-08-21",
      "detail": "the web opens to everyone — a real site with google/discord sign-in and a restored ~25-image free trial. 'escape from discord island.'",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-web-open",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-mj-web-open",
        "src-ci-petapixel-web",
        "src-ci-decoder-web"
      ],
      "title": "the web opens to all"
    }

52. officially into hardware · midjourney-timeline · 2024-08-28 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-be77e321c4f1cff33816

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-08-28",
      "detail": "'we're officially getting into hardware. if you're interested in joining the new team in san francisco please email us.' — the x post that makes the abbas hire legible in public.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-hardware-post",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-petapixel-hardware-2024"
      ],
      "title": "officially into hardware"
    }

53. the editor — and holodeck talk · midjourney-timeline · 2024-10-23 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-899bbb109a14b4a646c0 · source-fb4bfe83961810865f51 · source-36f96687a99ca9d36441

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-10-23",
      "detail": "the external image editor ships — edit any uploaded image, retexture, plus next-gen ai moderation — with holz saying they'll 'restrict the deployment.' office-hours reporting the same season describes a 'holodeck' 3d project and a second hardware effort.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-editor",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-mjupdates-editor-2024",
        "src-hp-petapixel-editor-2024",
        "src-ci-tomsguide-holodeck"
      ],
      "title": "the editor — and holodeck talk"
    }

54. patchwork · midjourney-timeline · 2024-12-11 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-8f48eedb889d6e62eedf · source-7d1c092ff63762fb5f3e

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-12-11",
      "detail": "patchwork ships as a research preview — a multiplayer infinite canvas for worldbuilding, mixing llms and image models, led by max kreminski's storytelling lab. the first public artifact of the world-model agenda.",
      "era": "platform",
      "id": "evt-patchwork",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-mjupdates-patchwork-2024",
        "src-hp-tomsguide-patchwork-2024"
      ],
      "title": "patchwork"
    }

55. v7 alpha · midjourney-timeline · 2025-04-04 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-ae16bee601125064a77e · source-57cb995304ebbfb3123e · source-2ddf0b8ca8ea79a81eda · source-6f0066db4f54ccbbf64d

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-04-04",
      "detail": "v7 alpha — the first new architecture in nearly a year: personalization on by default (rate ~200 image pairs to unlock), 10× draft mode at half cost, turbo and relax tiers. it lands a week after openai's ghibli moment floods every feed.",
      "era": "worlds",
      "id": "evt-v7",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-mj-v7-alpha",
        "src-ci-techcrunch-v7",
        "src-ci-ars-v7",
        "src-ci-decoder-v7"
      ],
      "title": "v7 alpha"
    }

56. omni-reference · midjourney-timeline · 2025-05 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-80c834b311dd0acec738 · source-6c4ef7ed05f8d649387d

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-05",
      "detail": "omni-reference --oref replaces --cref for v7 — characters, objects, and scenes with an --ow weight from 1–1000.",
      "era": "worlds",
      "id": "evt-oref",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-mj-omni",
        "src-ci-mj-docs-omni"
      ],
      "title": "omni-reference"
    }

57. disney and universal sue · midjourney-timeline · 2025-06-11 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-f0071a362a94f766a32f · source-1b1c2383358ab7beaa97 · source-210025c5e159b80790f3 · source-9a48be7bf7049c928b72 · source-29156e9e0ca2e9a77033

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-06-11",
      "detail": "disney and universal sue in c.d. cal. — the first major-studio ai suit. the 110-page complaint calls midjourney 'a bottomless pit of plagiarism,' alleges $300m 2024 revenue and ~21m users, quotes holz's own scraping candor, and asks for an injunction including against the imminent video service. holz that week: 'i think midjourney is going to be around for a very long time.'",
      "era": "worlds",
      "id": "evt-disney-suit",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-reuters-disney",
        "src-hp-courtlistener-disney-complaint",
        "src-ci-npr-disney",
        "src-ci-bbc-disney",
        "src-hp-ap-holz-response-2025"
      ],
      "title": "disney and universal sue"
    }

58. v7 goes default · midjourney-timeline · 2025-06-17 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-7e4aca5604e4e8caeaab · source-6f37964e91bde21b87f3

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-06-17",
      "detail": "v7 becomes the default model — six days after the studios' filing.",
      "era": "worlds",
      "id": "evt-v7-default",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-mjupdates-v7default-2025",
        "src-ci-toolworthy-v7"
      ],
      "title": "v7 goes default"
    }

59. v1 video · midjourney-timeline · 2025-06-18 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-c79790b8a42ed5240965 · source-764a38b703b4fc920e66 · source-673ec03bb41457966e9d

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-06-18",
      "detail": "the v1 video model ships — image-to-video, four 5-second clips per job, extendable to ~21s, priced at roughly one image per second of video and 'over 25 times cheaper than what the market has shipped.' holz frames it as 'a stepping stone' toward 'real-time open-world simulations.'",
      "era": "worlds",
      "id": "evt-video-v1",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-ci-mj-video-v1",
        "src-ci-techcrunch-v1-video",
        "src-ci-verge-v1-video"
      ],
      "title": "v1 video"
    }

60. midjourney tv · midjourney-timeline · 2025-07-30 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-e1131ef602407d8330bd · source-adb91f960c03600d2520

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-07-30",
      "detail": "midjourney tv launches — a 24/7 stream of top community videos at midjourney.tv plus personalized feeds. hd video (native 720p, pro/mega) follows in august.",
      "era": "worlds",
      "id": "evt-mjtv",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-hp-mjupdates-mjtv-2025",
        "src-ci-mj-hd-video"
      ],
      "title": "midjourney tv"
    }