Black Forest Labs, a startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz and responsible for the image generation feature of xAI’s Grok assistant, has unveiled a beta API along with a new model.
The API offers access to the Flux series of image generation models in a fully managed format. Developers can select the specific Flux model they want to integrate into their app or service. Additional features include an image resolution limiter and a content moderation layer.
Black Forest Labs also introduced its new image generation model, Flux1.1 Pro, boasting six times faster generation compared to its predecessor, Flux1 Pro.
The model supports scaling up to 2K resolution (2048 × 1080), with improvements in image quality, prompt accuracy, and diversity, according to a company blog post.
This capability will soon be integrated into the API. Besides Black Forest Labs’ own platform, Flux1.1 Pro is accessible via partners like Together AI, Replicate, Fal.AI, and Freepik. Pricing starts at 2.5 credits per image, with 100 credits costing $1. Flux1.1 Pro images are priced at 4 credits each.
Germany-based Black Forest Labs, which recently came out of stealth mode with $31 million in funding, was co-founded by key engineers behind Stability AI, including Andreas Blattmann, Patrick Esser, Dominik Lorenz, and CEO Robin Rombach.
The company faced criticism following its partnership with xAI to integrate Flux into Grok without implementing safety measures. This led to a flood of offensive and inappropriate images.
Although Black Forest Labs hasn’t revealed the data used to train Flux, the images on xAI suggest the possible inclusion of copyrighted material, which could lead to legal action if rights holders pursue it.
Black Forest Labs, which also counts Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan and former Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe among its investors, is reportedly working on video-generating models and is aiming to raise $100 million at a valuation of $1 billion—an impressive leap from its previous valuation of $150 million.
The API is expected to play a crucial role in this effort. Given the high costs associated with training and running models, investors are typically eager to see profits or, at the very least, a clear strategy toward generating returns.
With or without the API, Black Forest Labs faces a tough road ahead if its aim is to lead in media generation, given the fierce and increasing competition.
Companies like Ideogram, Pika, Luma, Runway, Stability, and Midjourney are already making strides in the field, not to mention the established giants such as OpenAI and Google.
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