James Cameron, Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker, Joins Stability AI Board of Directors
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Stability AI, a leading generative AI company, today announced that legendary filmmaker, technology innovator, and visual effects pioneer James Cameron has joined its Board of Directors. The announcement was made by Stability AI CEO, Prem Akkaraju.
James Cameron has been a driving force in merging cutting-edge technology with visionary storytelling. As a director, writer, and producer, he has pushed cinematic boundaries and brought to life some of the most iconic and technologically advanced films of all time, including The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Titanic, and Avatar movies.
Cameron’s addition represents a significant step forward in Stability AI’s mission to transform visual media. Both Cameron and Stability AI operate at the intersection of emerging technology and creativity. Cameron’s artist-centric perspective, paired with his business and technical acumen, will support Stability AI in continuing to unlock new opportunities to empower creators to tell stories in ways once unimaginable.
“James Cameron lives in the future and waits for the rest of us to catch up,” said CEO of Stability AI, Prem Akkaraju. “Stability AI’s mission is to transform visual media for the next century by giving creators a full stack AI pipeline to bring their ideas to life. We have an unmatched advantage to achieve this goal with a technological and creative visionary like James at the highest levels of our company. This is not only a monumental statement for Stability AI, but the AI industry overall.” Akkaraju added, “The next frontier in visual media will be forged by a true fusion of artist and technology and Stability AI is leading the charge.”
Stability AI’s open models are the most widely used foundational AI image models globally, fostering the largest ecosystem of creators and developers worldwide. The company’s models are also the most liked image models on the open-source platform Hugging Face. Its flagship model, Stable Diffusion, has surpassed 150 million downloads. Thousands of businesses, including major enterprises, rely on Stability AI’s models to power their creative workflows.
James Cameron, Chair of LIGHTSTORM and Board Member of Stability AI, said: “I’ve spent my career seeking out emerging technologies that push the very boundaries of what’s possible, all in the service of telling incredible stories. I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I’ve stayed on the cutting edge since. Now, the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave. The convergence of these two totally different engines of creation will unlock new ways for artists to tell stories in ways we could have never imagined. Stability AI is poised to lead this transformation. I’m delighted to collaborate with Sean, Prem, and the Stability AI team as they shape the future of all visual media.”
Cameron will join the other newly appointed board members, including Dana Settle, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Greycroft; Colin Bryant, COO and General Partner of Coatue Management; and Sean Parker, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and former President of Facebook, who serves as Executive Chairman.
Sean Parker, Executive Chairman of Stability AI, added: “James Cameron is a legend, both for his artistic vision as a filmmaker and his role as a pioneering technologist. Having an artist of his caliber with a seat at the table marks the start of a new chapter for Stability AI. We’re incredibly excited by the limitless potential for creative collaboration between generative media platforms and the artistic community.”
Prem Akkaraju, who previously took on the role of CEO after serving as the CEO of the Academy Award-winning visual effects company Weta Digital, continues to guide Stability AI’s strategic direction, working closely with the Board of Directors and executive team.
About Stability AI
Stability AI is a global company working to transform visual media through artificial intelligence (AI). Today, Stability AI develops a range of generative AI models for image, video, 3D, audio, and language. With appropriate safeguards, these models are shared openly to promote transparency and competition in AI. Stability AI’s flagship image model, Stable Diffusion, is a family of open-source image models that powers up to ~80% of AI-generated imagery. Stable Audio, a text-to-audio web application, was recently named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023.
About James Cameron
James Cameron is an acclaimed filmmaker, technology innovator and ocean explorer. He’s responsible for some of the most memorable films of the past three decades: The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, True Lies, Titanic, and Avatar movies. Avatar currently holds both the domestic and worldwide box office records, having grossed more than $2.9 billion globally. Along with Avatar: The Way of Water at $2.3B, and Titanic at $2.2B, three out of four of the highest grossing films in history are Cameron’s. He’s the recipient of three Oscars, two Emmys, and numerous other awards.
During the past two decades, Cameron has developed industry-defining technology for visual media. He’s at the vanguard of the 3D renaissance that’s transforming how media is consumed in view of new display devices. Cameron has also developed unprecedented marine tech. He co-designed and co-engineered the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible and science platform, which he dove to the Challenger Deep in 2012, becoming the first person in history to descend to Earth’s deepest point as a solo pilot.
Cameron is passionately involved in sustainability issues, having founded the Avatar Alliance Foundation to take action on climate change, energy policy, indigenous rights, ocean conservation, and sustainable agriculture.
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