Looks like Stable Diffusion is having some major trouble finding its footing.

AI Hole

From fundraising more than $100 million at the end of 2022 to hemorrhaging top talent by mid-2023, Stability AI — the firm that funds and supports development of the open source Stable Diffusion image generator — has had a helluva year.

As Bloomberg reports, the San Francisco-based AI firm has had a bevy of issues, from accusations that its CEO Emad Mostaque doesn’t know how to run a business to claims that the company hadn’t paid a $70,000 bill.

Chief among Stability’s difficulties is its talent exodus. This summer alone, the firm has seen resignations from its chief operating officer, chief information officer, head of research, and VP of engineering, just to name a few.

Though Mostaque insists that “churn” is a common practice in startups while trying to establish “cultural fit” between employee and company, interviews with several former and current people involved with the project say the CEO’s lofty vision often doesn’t match up to the reality of his day-to-day ability