Local AI: ComfyUI raises $30M at $500M valuation

ComfyUI, a startup offering precise control over AI-generated images, video, and audio, has raised $30 million in a new funding round at a $500 million valuation. Marina Temkin reports for TechCrunch that Craft Ventures led the round, with Pace Capital, Chemistry, and TruArrow also participating.

The company began as an open-source project in 2023. Its founders built a node-based interface that lets creators control each individual step of the AI generation process. This approach addresses a key frustration with standard AI tools.

“If you think about your typical prompt-based solution, like Midjourney or ChatGPT, you ask for something, it gets only 60% to 80% there,” co-founder and CEO Yoland Yan told TechCrunch. He compared standard prompting to playing a slot machine: asking for a small change can overwrite everything that already worked.

ComfyUI’s interface lets users link specific components of the generation process instead. The tool has attracted over 4 million users. Creative professionals use it for visual effects, animation, advertising, and industrial design. The job title “ComfyUI artist or engineer” has reportedly appeared on studio job boards.

The startup previously raised $19 million in Series A financing. Its competitors include Weavy, which Figma acquired last year.

Yan argues that demand for precise human oversight will grow as generic AI content becomes widespread. “The Comfy version of human-in-the-loop approach is going to win out most of the eyeballs in the end,” he said.