ComfyUI hits $500M valuation as creators seek more control over AI-generated media

ComfyUIa startup that helps makers manage the image, video, and audio output of diffusion models with a node-based workflow has raised a $30 million funding round at a $500 million valuation.

The round was led by Craft Ventures, with participation from other investors including Pace Capital, Chemistry and TruArrow.

ComfyUI started as an open source project in 2023, shortly after the introduction of diffusion models. At the time, models like Midjourney and OpenAI’s DALL-E were barely functional and frequently made major mistakes, such as adding extra fingers to the hands.

To address these limitations, the project’s founders developed a modular framework that gives creators detailed control over every step of the generation process.

Their tool gained so much popularity among creative professionals that it eventually grew into a formal startup. In late 2024, ComfyUI raised $19 million in Series A funding from investors including Chemistry Ventures, Cursor Capital and Guillermo Rauch, founder of Vercel.

While the latest diffusion models have come a long way in adding a sixth digit to hands, the need for the detailed precision that ComfyUI provides has only grown.

“When you think about your typical prompt-based solution, like Midjourney or ChatGPT, you’re asking for something: the [gets only] 60% – 80% there,” Yoland Yan, co-founder and CEO of ComfyUI, told TechCrunch. “But to change that remaining 20%, you have to try this slot machine.”

Yan compared the process to playing in a casino, because prompting the model to make a small change can result in a completely different outcome, including overwriting the parts that were already perfect.

ComfyUI’s node-based interface allows creators to link specific components of the generation process, giving them full control over the quality of their final output.

“You can’t just convey that message in the prompt window [of a foundational model],” Yan said.

The creators seem to agree, as ComfyUI claims to have over 4 million users.

The tool is used by creative professionals for visual effects, animation, advertising and even industrial design.

The startup says its offering has become such a necessary tool for tech artists and other creatives that it’s not unusual to see “ComfyUI artist or engineer” listed as a job title on studio job boards.

While the basic models for video and graphics continue to improve, Yan claims they are far from perfect, and a tool like ComfyUI will still be in high demand.

“In the world where AI doldrums will be everywhere, the Comfy version of the human-in-the-loop approach will ultimately draw the most attention,” he said.

ComfyUI’s competitors include Weavy, a startup that was acquired by Figma last year.