Disney and Universal v. Midjourney: Copyright Litigation Timeline
| Date | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Jun 2025 | Complaint filed | Disney + Universal file 110-page suit in C.D. Cal.; first major-studio case against a generative-AI image company |
| Jun 2025 | Scope of plaintiffs | Six named entities: Disney Enterprises, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century, Universal City Studios Productions, DreamWorks Animation |
| Jun 2025 | Core allegation | Service described as a 'virtual vending machine' producing endless unauthorized copies of protected characters |
| Statutory exposure | Up to $150,000 per work | U.S. Copyright Act ceiling for willful infringement; applied across many works this compounds into existential risk for a bootstrapped firm |
| 2025 to 2026 | Midjourney response + motions | Midjourney pushes back publicly; case proceeds through pleadings and motion practice |
| Late 2026 | Trial window (RUMORED) | Trial reportedly targeted for late 2026 per secondary reporting; no primary docket confirmation cited here |
Updated at 2026-06
Midjourney Image Model Version Timeline (V1 to V7)
| Date | Model | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | V1 | First public model; rough, painterly outputs; closed alpha |
| Apr 2022 | V2 | Sharper coherence; still abstract and dreamlike |
| Jul 2022 | V3 | Public beta launches inside Discord via /imagine; profitability reached ~1 month after launch |
| Nov 2022 | V4 | Quality leap that established Midjourney as the most aesthetic image model; subscriber growth explodes |
| Mar 2023 | V5 | Photorealism reaches cultural awareness (viral Pope-in-puffer-jacket image) |
| May to Jun 2023 | V5.1 / V5.2 | Default-quality and zoom-out refinements on the V5 base |
| Dec 2023 | V6 | Text rendering and prompt adherence breakthrough; Discord base crosses ~20M users |
| Jul 2024 | V6.1 | Image quality and coherence refresh; runs alongside the new first-party web app |
| Apr 2025 | V7 (alpha 3 Apr; default 17 Jun) | First new image model in ~16 months; voice prompting, faster Draft Mode, built-in personalization |
| Jan 2026 | Niji 7 | Latest anime/illustration-tuned sub-model (Niji line) |
Updated at 2026-06
Midjourney Revenue per Employee
2023-2025
Revenue per Employee (USD M, est.)
Updated at 2026-06
Midjourney Annual Revenue (Bootstrapped, Zero Outside Capital)
2022-2026E
Annual Revenue (USD M)
Updated at 2026-06
Midjourney Subscription Tiers and Fast-GPU-Hour Allocation
| Plan | Monthly Price (USD) | Fast GPU Hours / mo | Key entitlements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 10 | 3.3 | 3 concurrent fast jobs; general commercial use; no Relax Mode |
| Standard | 30 | 15 | 3 concurrent fast jobs; unlimited Relax Mode generation |
| Pro | 60 | 30 | 12 concurrent fast jobs; Relax Mode; Stealth (private) Mode; required above $1M company revenue |
| Mega | 120 | 60 | 12 concurrent fast jobs; Relax Mode; Stealth Mode; highest Fast-Hour ceiling |
Updated at 2026-06
Midjourney in AI Software
OpenAI
$PRIVATE
Largest AI lab by revenue. Approximately $13B annualized run-rate revenue (mid-2025) from a mix of ChatGPT consumer subscriptions, ChatGPT Enterprise / Team, the OpenAI API, and Microsoft Azure OpenAI revenue share. ChatGPT reaches roughly 800M weekly active users (late 2025). Builder of the GPT family (GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, GPT-5, o-series reasoning models) and Sora video. Microsoft is the dominant compute and distribution partner; SoftBank led the $40B March 2025 primary round at $300B.
