Civitai is an online platform and marketplace for

generative AI Generative artificial intelligence (generative AI, GenAI, or GAI) is a subset of artificial intelligence that uses generative models to produce text, images, videos, or other forms of data. These models machine learning, learn the underlying p ...

content, primarily focused on AI-generated images and models.

History

Civitai was founded in 2022 by Justin Maier. By January 2023, the site reached 100,000 registered users and 3 million by November. In November 2023, Civitai secured funding from venture capital firm

Andreessen Horowitz Andreessen Horowitz (also called a16z, legal name AH Capital Management, LLC) is a private American venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Andreessen H ...

. By April 2024, Civitai had 23.2 million monthly accesses. The company is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

Platform

Civitai allows users to share and download AI models, particularly those used for image generation. The platform supports various AI models, including

Stable Diffusion Stable Diffusion is a deep learning, text-to-image model released in 2022. It is primarily used to generate detailed images conditioned on text descriptions, though it can also be applied to other tasks such as inpainting, outpainting, and genera ...

and

Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ...

, and provides a space for users to showcase and monetize their AI-generated content. Users have profile pages and can comment on other users' models and images. The website also features a virtual currency called ''Buzz'' that can be used to generate images on Civitai's servers. Buzz can be bought or earned by engaging with the site. The platform is

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

Controversies

In 2023,

404 Media ''404 Media'' is an online publication focusing on technology and internet reporting. The publication covers topics such as hacker, hacking, sex work, niche online communities, and the right to repair movement. The publication is worker-owned. ...

reported that Civitai began a "bounties" marketplace where users could commission

deepfakes Deepfakes (a portmanteau of " deep learning" and "fake") are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness. While the act of creating fake content is not new, deepfakes leverage powerfu ...

, of real or fake people. Users are rewarded for completing bounties with buzz. In December 2023, AI provider OctoML announced it had ended its business relationship with Civitai after concerns were raised users were generating images that “could be categorized as

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

.”

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite journal , last1=Gorwa , first1=Robert , last2=Veale , first2=Michael , title=Moderating model marketplaces: platform governance puzzles for AI intermediaries , journal=Law, Innovation and Technology , date=2 July 2024 , volume=16 , issue=2 , pages=341–391 , doi=10.1080/17579961.2024.2388914 , url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17579961.2024.2388914 , issn=1757-9961, arxiv=2311.12573 {{cite web , last1=Yamamoto , first1=Hirofumi , last2=Iwasawa , first2=Akinobu , last3=Yamada , first3=Toru , last4=Sakai , first4=Sotaro , last5=Senzaki , first5=Ryohei , last6=Nakagawa , first6=Marina , last7=Miyashita , first7=Hiroyuki , last8=Kida , first8=Kazuhiro , last9=Kobayashi , first9=Ken , title=AI anime flood - An infringement investigation of 90,000 images , url=https://asia.nikkei.com/static/vdata/infographics/ai-anime/ , website=Nikkei Asia , language=en , date=Jun 6, 2024 {{cite web , last1=Tenbarge , first1=Kat , title=Top AI companies commit to child safety principles as industry grapples with deepfake scandals , url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/top-ai-companies-commit-child-safety-principles-thorn-rcna148988 , website=NBC News , language=en , date=24 April 2024 {{cite web , last1=Perez , first1=Sarah , title=Andreessen Horowitz backs Civitai, a generative AI content marketplace with millions of users , url=https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/14/andreessen-horowitz-backs-civitai-a-generative-ai-content-marketplace-with-millions-of-users/ , website=TechCrunch , date=14 November 2023 {{cite web , last1=Zeman , first1=Benjamin , title=How to build basic workflows in ComfyUI , url=https://www.xda-developers.com/comfyui-how-to-workflows/ , website=XDA , language=en , date=4 December 2024 {{cite web , last1=Maiberg , first1=Emanuel , title=Giant AI Platform Introduces 'Bounties' for Deepfakes of Real People , url=https://www.404media.co/giant-ai-platform-introduces-bounties-for-nonconsensual-images-of-real-people/ , website=404 Media , language=en , date=13 November 2023 {{cite web , last1=Macdonald , first1=Cheyenne , title=Controversial AI image platform Civitai dropped by its cloud computing provider after reports of possible CSAM , url=https://www.engadget.com/controversial-ai-image-platform-civitai-has-been-dropped-by-its-cloud-computing-provider-195530538.html , website=Engadget , date=9 December 2023 {{cite journal , last1=De Rosa Palmini , first1=Maria-Teresa , last2=Wagner , first2=Laura Juliane , title=Surface Aesthetics: The Secret Formula of Prompting , journal=Rrrreflect. Journal of Integrated Design Research , date=31 October 2024 , issue=1 , doi=10.57684/COS-1268 , url=https://cos.bibl.th-koeln.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/1268 {{cite web , title=civitai , url=https://github.com/civitai/civitai , website = GitHub , date=9 December 2024 {{cite web , last1=Goldman , first1=Sharon , title=Civitai founder champions open source, downplays AI deepfake porn , url=https://venturebeat.com/ai/civitai-founder-champions-open-source-downplays-ai-deepfake-porn/ , website=VentureBeat , date=6 December 2023 {{cite book , last1=Wei , first1=Yiluo , last2=Zhu , first2=Yiming , last3=Hui , first3=Pan , last4=Tyson , first4=Gareth , chapter=Exploring the Use of Abusive Generative AI Models on Civitai , title=Proceedings of the 32nd ACM International Conference on Multimedia , date=28 October 2024 , pages=6949–6958 , doi=10.1145/3664647.3681052 , isbn=979-8-4007-0686-8 , chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3664647.3681052 Artificial intelligence companies Open-source artificial intelligence Companies based in Boise, Idaho American companies established in 2022