(Yicai Global) May 16 -- Midjourney, a popular artificial intelligence image generator developed by an independent US research lab of the same name, will start internal testing on Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings' instant messaging software QQ.

The Chinese version of the tool will be found on QQ's entertainment collaboration platform QQ Channel, with users able to join after scanning a QR code, Midjourney said on WeChat yesterday. The test periods will be open at 6 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays, with entrance closed when user numbers reach a set limit, it added.

The two parties have not formed a partnership, a source told Yicai Global, adding that Midjourney recruited the test users itself.

Through QQ Channel, users can use the mapping robot Midjourney, its anime-specific version Niji Journey, and other functions, including upscale, variation, remix, and image prompt, Midjourney noted.

Midjourney debuted its AI image generator in March last year, becoming the world's second-most popular AI-generated content tool after OpenAI's ChatGPT, thanks to its strong drawing functions. The company has only 11 full-time employees, with founder David Holz also set up the somatosensory controller maker Leap Motion, according to the San Francisco-based firm’s website.

Midjourney adopts a business model of user-paid subscriptions and offers three service packages for USD10, USD30, and USD60 each per month.

AIGC can optimize Tencent's social media, communications, and game businesses and increase the firm's profits, President Liu Chiping said at an earnings call in March. The Shenzhen-based company will input resources to develop its AI model and use it in its future businesses, he added.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev