A London听company听which claims to听have听built the world鈥檚 largest听AI video platform听has raised 拢9 million Series A funding.听
Synthesia, backed by leading angels and VC funds,听is focused on听reducing the friction of video creation and making it possible for anyone to create professional-looking听videos in minutes, directly from their browser.听听
The听financing round听was听led by Matt Turck from听FirstMark听Capital with participation from all existing investors, including LDV Capital, MMC Ventures,听Seedcamp, Mark Cuban, Taavet听Hinrikus, Martin听Varsavsky听and听TinyVC.听听
The round is the largest investment to听date in the synthetic AI video space.听It听also adds two new angels to听the cap table: Christian Bach (CEO, Netlify) and Michael Buckley (VP Communications, Twilio).听听
The firm was founded in 2017 by technology entrepreneurs Victor听Riparbelli听and Steffen Tjerrild, and world-renowned听professors of computer vision Matthias Niessner and Lourdes Agapito.听
鈥淲e鈥檝e still only scratched the surface of the video economy,鈥� said听Riparbelli.听鈥�In 10听years听we believe most of our听digital experiences will be powered by video in some way or form.听听
鈥�But to truly听realise听the video-first听internet we need a more scalable and accessible way to make video.听
鈥淭oday, video production is costly, complex and unscalable. It requires studios, actors,听cameras and post-production. It鈥檚 an incredibly long and multidisciplinary process, rooted in physical听space and sensors.鈥�听
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Four years听ago听the founders of听Synthesia听set out to solve this.听鈥淲e鈥檙e building an application layer听that turns code into video, allowing for video content to be programmed with computers rather than听recorded with cameras and microphones,鈥� explained听Riparbelli.听
鈥�Once video production is abstracted away as code,听it has all听the benefits of software: infinite scale, close to zero marginal costs and it can be made accessible to听everyone.听
鈥淭his is now quickly becoming a reality. We launched our SaaS product,听Synthesia听STUDIO, just听six听months ago. It鈥檚 still in beta and is the world鈥檚 first and largest platform for creating AI video.听听
鈥�Our听text-to-video technology allows businesses to produce professional looking videos in minutes instead听of days. We have essentially reduced the entire video production process to a single API call or a few听clicks in our web app.鈥�听
Synthesia听will use the new funding to invest heavily in product and IP development, starting with its听personalised video API.听听
鈥淲e have been overwhelmed by the response in the听last six months since our beta launch: we now have thousands of users and our customers range听from small agencies to Fortune 500 companies,鈥� said听Riparbelli.听听
鈥�They use听Synthesia听STUDIO primarily for internal听training and corporate communications. But now we are seeing more and more companies starting to听use it for external communications, incorporating personalised video into every step of the customer听journey through our personalised video API.鈥�听
While听Synthesia听has been in existence for the last four years, and already worked with some of the听world’s top celebrities like David Beckham, Lionel Messi and Snoop Dogg, CEO听Riparbelli听says听they are still early in their journey.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e building a foundational technology for the next iteration of听the internet. CSS enabled beautiful layouts and graphics.听Javascript听gave us interactive websites.听
鈥�Smartphones听made everything accessible at all times and equipped us with sensors to capture the听world around us. Machine learning analyses and personalises our digital experiences at scale.听
鈥淪ynthetic, programmable media will be weaved into the fabric of every digital听experience in the future听–听from the personalised news we鈥檒l be watching, to our interactive AI听teachers and eventually to the Hollywood blockbuster made by your favourite YouTuber from his or听her bedroom.听
鈥�This is the future that excites us and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e building towards. And in this听perspective, we鈥檙e still incredibly early on our journey.鈥�