An animated avatar created by the AI video platform Synthesia.
synthetic
Synthesia, a digital media platform that allows users to create AI-generated videos, has raised $90 million from investors — including US chip giant Nvidia, which company exclusively to CNBC.
The London-based company raised cash in a funding round led by Accel, an early investor in Facebook, Slack and Spotify. Nvidia joined as a strategic investor, putting in an undisclosed amount. Other investors include Kleiner Perkins, GV, FirstMark Capital and MMC.
Founded in 2017 by researchers and entrepreneurs Victor Riparbelli, Matthias Niessner, Steffen Tjerrild and Lourdes Agapito, Synthesia develops software that allows people to create their own digital avatars to present articles company presentations, training videos — or even compliment colleagues in more than 120 different languages.
Its ultimate aim is to remove cameras, microphones, actors, lengthy editing, and other costs from professional video production. To do that, Synthesia created animated avatars that look and sound like humans, but are generated by AI. The avatars are based on real life actors talking in front of a green screen.
“Productivity can be improved because you are bringing the cost of video production down to the cost of creating PowerPoint,” Philippe Botteri, at Accel, a leading investor in Synthesia’s Series C, told CNBC, adding that added that the use of video was already popular among consumers. platforms like YouTube, Netflix and TikTok.
“Video is a much better way to impart knowledge. When we think about the potential of the company and the valuation, we think about what it can bring, [and] in the case of Synthesia, we’re just scratching the surface.”
Synthesia is a general form of AI, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. But the company says it’s been working on its own proprietary generalized AI for years, and while ChatGPT may have only recently emerged in public perception, generalized AI itself isn’t a big deal. new technology.
Synthesia sells to corporate clients, including Tiffany’s, IHG and Moody’s Analytics. The company doesn’t disclose its sales or revenue figures, though it says it’s “consistently driving triple-digit growth” with more than 12 million videos produced on the platform to date. The company says the number of users on Synthesia is up 456% year-over-year.
Synthesia plans to increase investment in its technology, with a particular focus on advancing AI research and creating Synthesia avatars capable of performing more tasks.
“We work with 35% of the Fortune 100 [with a focus on] product marketing, customer support, customer success – areas of the company where you have a lot of text you want to turn into video,” Riparbelli told CNBC.
“As we move into the next phase of the next generation of Synthesia technology, it’s all about making avatars more expressive, able to do more things, walk around the room, play games. story,” he added.
Nvidia is not just a semiconductor manufacturer, Riparbelli explains — it’s also a talented research and development powerhouse with a team of engineers, academics and researchers writing articles on the topic.
“They’re not just a chip maker,” he said. “They have great research groups that are leading the way a lot in terms of, how do you actually train these big models? What works, what doesn’t?”
Investors are interested in AI
Business Insider previous report that Synthesia is in talks with investors to raise between $50 million and $75 million in a new fund at a valuation of around $1 billion.
The report did not include details of Nvidia’s involvement, nor did it mention the total amount of $90 million raised.
Synthesia is one of many companies attracting interest from investors with AI and enterprise software that can reduce costs associated with certain business processes. Companies are looking for ways reduce costs wherever they can to combat escalating inflation and prepare for a possible recession.
Last week, French business planning software company Pigment raised $88 million from investors including Iconiq Development, Felix Capital, Meritech IVP and FirstMark, in part to increase investment in AI.
Innovative AI is a rare bright spot in a European tech market reeling from declining funding and a slump in valuation. Investors have moved from high-growth tech companies to value sectors with more stable income generating capabilities, such as finance, industrials, energy and consumer staples .
Recently, a report from venture capital firm Atomico found that Europe’s source of funding for tech startups is on track to drop another 39% by 2023 to $51 billion from $83 billion in 2022.
However, Atomico says AI is a more attractive area for investment, with general AI accounting for 35% of total investment in AI and machine learning companies last year — the highest percentage ever. to date and skyrocket from 5% in 2022.
Ethical concerns about deepfakes
There are concerns that the use of advanced AI video tools like Synthesia could lead to deepfakes, videos that take a user’s portrait and manipulate it to make it look like they’re saying or doing something. which they are not.
More and more calls from tech leaders and academics for a global pause on AI development beyond systems like OpenAI’s GPT-4, out of concern that the technology is becoming so advanced that it could pose an existential risk to humanity.
Synthesia first attracted major attention in 2019 for a deepfake videos features a digital animated version of famous football player David Beckham talking about the campaign to end malaria in nine languages.
While it was done with Beckham’s consent and for a good reason, wider use of deepfake technology has led to concerns about the potential for misinformation.
To address that, Synthesia says it keeps ethics in mind while developing its software. The company requires the consent of people to make avatars in its software and uses a combination of human and machine learning to target material such as profanity and hate speech.
It also subscribed to Responsible Practices for Synthetic Media, an industry-wide voluntary framework for ethical and responsible development, creation, and sharing of synthetic media.
“There’s a lot of different discussions going on right now. There’s a discussion about the kind of risk scenarios that go on for a very long time. I think they’re also important to discuss. But I’d like to see more focus on that. where are we today?” Riparbelli told CNBC in an interview.
“These technologies are already powerful. How do we deal with illusion? How do we deal with all the problems that arise?”, he added. “There are certainly pitfalls. But I think there’s also a lot of opportunity in that, leveling the playing field and allowing people to do more for less.”
