Midjourney has completed its first acquisition, purchasing social astrology platform Co-Star as the artificial intelligence company prepares to broaden its ambitions beyond image and video generation. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, while Co-Star founder Banu Guler and the company’s team will join Midjourney following the deal. Midjourney said the acquisition will strengthen its product and design capabilities as it develops a wider research organization and pursues several new projects.
Co-Star Joins Midjourney
Founded as a mobile-first astrology service, Co-Star creates personalized horoscopes, compatibility readings, and guidance based on users’ birth-chart information. The platform combines automated systems with human-written material and has developed a social layer that allows users to compare astrological profiles and share insights with friends. TechCrunch reported that the service has approximately 4.3 million monthly active users, giving Midjourney an established consumer platform and a team experienced in building widely used mobile products.
Founder Retains Control of the Platform
Midjourney founder David Holz said he first met Guler more than five years ago and became interested in her perspective on how people reflect, make decisions, and understand their experiences. Under the new ownership structure, Guler will continue directing Co-Star, which Midjourney said will remain under her control rather than being immediately absorbed into another product. The arrangement provides Co-Star with access to substantially greater resources and larger teams while preserving the founder’s leadership over the app’s future development.
Building Product and Design Expertise
The transaction appears designed to bring consumer product expertise into an organization best known for generative AI tools accessed primarily through Discord and the web. Midjourney said Guler and her team will help build a broader product and design organization supporting Co-Star as well as the buyer’s other initiatives. Co-Star’s experience in mobile engagement, personalization, and social interaction could help Midjourney translate its research and generative technology into more accessible standalone consumer experiences.
A Broader Research Strategy
The acquisition comes as Midjourney seeks to evolve from a company closely associated with AI-generated imagery into what Holz described as an unusual and increasingly diversified research lab. The company has already begun developing Midjourney Medical and expects to announce about six similarly ambitious projects during the next six months. Although Midjourney has not detailed those initiatives, the Co-Star transaction indicates that acquisitions and specialized external teams may play a role in expanding its capabilities.
Strategic Significance of the Deal
For Midjourney, buying Co-Star offers more than ownership of an astrology application because it adds an established product, a recognized consumer brand, and employees familiar with maintaining a large user community. For Co-Star, the deal creates an opportunity to continue operating under Guler’s direction while drawing on the technical, financial, and organizational resources of a major generative AI company. The combination also reflects a broader industry push to differentiate AI products through design, personality, community, and recurring consumer engagement rather than technical performance alone.
Midjourney’s purchase of Co-Star marks the company’s first acquisition and a notable step in its effort to build a broader organization around research, product development, and design. Co-Star will continue under Guler’s leadership, while its team contributes expertise that could support a new generation of Midjourney products beyond the company’s familiar creative tools. With several additional projects expected to emerge in the coming months, the acquisition provides an early indication of how Midjourney intends to diversify its business and reach consumers in new ways.