ComfyUI, a startup that helps creators control image, video, and audio outputs from 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 was started as an open-source project in 2023, shortly after the introduction of diffusion models.
Initially, models like Midjourney and OpenAI's DALL-E were barely functional, frequently making major mistakes, such as adding extra fingers to hands. To address these limitations, the project founders developed a modular framework that gives creators granular control over every step of the generation process.
Their tool gained significant traction among creative professionals, eventually evolving into a formal startup. In late 2024, ComfyUI raised $19 million in Series A financing from investors including Chemistry Ventures, Cursor Capital, and Guillermo Rauch, founder of Vercel.
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. The startup claims to have over 4 million users, with the tool being used by creative professionals for visual effects, animation, advertising, and even industrial design.
ComfyUI's CEO, Yoland Yan, emphasized that while video and image foundational models continue to improve, they are far from perfect, and a tool like ComfyUI will continue to be in high demand. The startup competes with Weavy, which was acquired by Figma last year.