Imagen (text-to-image model)

Last updated
Imagen
Developer(s) Google DeepMind
Stable release
Imagen 3 / 13 August 2024;7 months ago (2024-08-13)
Type Text-to-image model
Website deepmind.google/technologies/imagen-3/

Imagen, Imagen 2, and Imagen 3 are text-to-image models developed by Google DeepMind. They were developed by Google Brain until the company's merger with DeepMind in April 2023. [1] Imagen is primarily used to generate images from text prompts, similar to Stability AI's Stable Diffusion, OpenAI's DALL-E, or Midjourney.

Contents

The original version of the model was first discussed in a paper from May 2022. [2] The tool produces high-quality images and is available to all users with a Google account through services including Gemini, ImageFX, and Vertex AI. [3]

History

Imagen's original version was first presented in a paper published in May 2022. It featured the ability to generate high-fidelity images from natural language. [2] The second version, Imagen 2 was released in December 2023. [4] The standout feature was text and logo generation. [5] Imagen 3 was released in August 2024. [6] Google claims that the newest version provides better detail and lighting on generated images. [7]

Technology

Imagen uses two key technologies. The first is the use of transformer-based large language models, notably T5, to understand text and subsequently encode text for image synthesis. The second is the use of diffusion models that provide high-fidelity image generation. [2]

Capabilities

Imagen can generate photorealistic images from text prompts. [3] . It can also create various styles, such as cinematic, 35mm film, illustration, and surreal. The model can generate images in five aspect ratios, namely 9:16, 3:4, 1:1, 4:3, and 16:9. Imagen can also refine already generated images by editing existing text prompts. [7]

See also

References

  1. Roth, Emma; Peters, Jay (April 20, 2023). "Google's big AI push will combine Brain and DeepMind into one team". The Verge . Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Saharia, Chitwan; Chan, William; Saxena, Saurabh; Li, Lala; Whang, Jay; Denton, Emily; Ghasemipour, Seyed Kamyar Seyed; Ayan, Burcu Karagol; Mahdavi, S. Sara (2022-05-23), Photorealistic Text-to-Image Diffusion Models with Deep Language Understanding, arXiv, doi:10.48550/arXiv.2205.11487, arXiv:2205.11487, retrieved 2025-03-18
  3. 1 2 Peterson, Jake (2024-08-16). "Anyone With a Google Account Can Try Google's Latest AI Image Generator Right Now". Lifehacker. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
  4. "Imagen 2 - our most advanced text-to-image technology". Google DeepMind. 2025-03-12. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
  5. Wiggers, Kyle (2023-12-13). "Google debuts Imagen 2 with text and logo generation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
  6. Schoon, Ben (2024-08-16). "Google opens access to Imagen 3, its latest model for AI image generation". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on 2024-08-18. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
  7. 1 2 published, Christian Rowlands (2025-02-26). "Some of the most realistic AI images you'll see were created with this free tool". TechRadar. Retrieved 2025-03-18.