David Holz on venture capital
From Regeneron ISEF 2026 - The Future of AI: A Conversation with David Holz and Maya Ajmera · · SocietyforScience
“Midjourney is one of the larger revenue AI companies, but it's also we have no investors, which is really weird. I spent all my money until I was like negative $1,000 and then it's very motivating to make money when you're when you have no money left. When you raise money sometimes the motivation to make money goes away and then instead you get the motivation to just raise more money, and raising money is very different than having a product that people are willing to pay for.”
On , David Holz, CEO & Founder at Midjourney, spoke about venture capital during Regeneron ISEF 2026 - The Future of AI: A Conversation with David Holz and Maya Ajmera on SocietyforScience.
About David Holz
David Holz, founder and CEO of Midjourney, participated in a conversation with Maya Ajmera at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. He discussed the company's financial model, stating that Midjourney is one of the larger revenue AI companies but has no investors. He said he spent his own money until he was negative $1,000, which he described as motivating for making money. Holz also shared his views on addressing problems through innovation rather than conservation. He said he believes in investing in fusion, space solar, or even blocking 1% of sunlight with satellites to control the Earth's temperature. Regarding AI's risks, he said the most dangerous thing is if humans build powerful AI and in the process believe less in their own beauty and power. He contrasted humans with economic agents, stating that humans want to be something different from a perfect economic agent, and that he is biased toward humans.