Amid the generative AI boom, an unlikely platform has taken center stage: Discord. 

Initially designed for gamers, Discord has become a breeding ground for innovative AI startups like Viggle and Midjourney, which are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with artificial intelligence. 

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• Discord has become an unexpected hub for AI startups, hosting over 3 million users on Viggle’s server alone.

• Viggle’s AI tech transforms user-uploaded videos and photos into entertaining, meme-worthy content.

• Discord’s infrastructure and support help AI startups like Viggle and Midjourney scale rapidly.

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Discord Emerges as an Unexpected Hub for the Generative AI Boom

The Rise of Viggle

One of the most exciting companies to emerge from this trend is Viggle, a startup specializing in creating AI-generated videos. 

Unlike other text-to-video AI offerings, Viggle combines a video of someone performing a specific movement with a photo of a person. 

The result is a video that shows the person from the photo replicating the movements from the original video.

While the output isn’t 100% realistic yet, it’s still incredibly impressive and entertaining. 

Users have been quick to embrace the technology, using it to create viral memes like the Lil Yachty walk-out video, which features everyone from the Joker to NBA All-Star Joel Embiid strutting their stuff on stage.

But Viggle isn’t just for memes. 

According to founder Hang Chu, the company is focusing on building what they call “controllable video generation models.” 

This means that users can control precisely how the character moves and how the scene looks, making it a valuable tool for game designers and VFX artists who want to create rough animation assets quickly.

Discord’s Role in Supporting AI Startups

Viggle’s success is due in no small part to its partnership with Discord. 

By building their app on Discord, Viggle was able to tap into a tech-savvy audience and take advantage of the platform’s built-in content moderation tools. 

This has allowed the company to focus on building its back-end service while Discord handles the front-end infrastructure.

Discord’s VP of Product, Ben Shanken, acknowledges that hosting so many videos can be challenging and costly, but he believes that Discord is well-equipped to handle the scale. 

“It’s not easy for any type of company to scale, but Discord is built for that type of scale, and we’re able to help them absorb that pretty well,” he said.

The Future of AI on Discord

As more AI startups flock to Discord, the platform is quickly becoming an accidental SaaS company for AI. 

While this brings new challenges in terms of content moderation and technical infrastructure, it also presents exciting opportunities for innovation and growth.

For companies like Viggle, the support of Discord is crucial. 

With just 15 employees, Viggle relies on Discord to help them iterate faster and reach a wider audience. 

With 3 million members and counting, the hype around Viggle seems to show no sign of slowing down.

The rise of Viggle and other AI startups on Discord is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation. 

By working together, these companies are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with artificial intelligence and creating new opportunities for creators and users alike.

 As the generative AI boom continues to gather steam, it will be exciting to see what other unexpected partnerships and breakthroughs emerge from this dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape.

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