(Reuters) - U.S. writing assistant startup Jasper has acquired Clipdrop, an artificial intelligence-powered photo application from Stability AI, the company told Reuters on Wednesday, as Jasper expands its offerings to corporates.

The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, marks a reversal in strategy for Stability AI, a London-based startup known for its image generation AI model, which acquired Clipdrop less than a year ago.

In an emailed statement, Emad Mostaque, CEO at Stability AI said the deal will allow the company to continue to focus on developing "cutting-edge open models".

Founded in July 2020, Paris-based Clipdrop had raised seed investment from Air Street Capital before being sold to Stability AI in March 2023 for an undisclosed amount. At the time, Clipdrop said it had more than 15 million users.

Jasper and Stability AI are popular among users of and investors in generative AI, an area populated by OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Both companies have raised over $100 million from venture investors at billion dollar valuation, and are now trying to prove they can sustain the growth in the fast-moving race with other startups and big tech companies.

Jasper, known for its AI-based writing tool, has seen layoffs and CEO changes as it tries to focus on serving enterprises, instead of consumers, in the past year. It plans to offer Clipdrop through its platform, while keeping it available as a standalone product.