Synthesia has launched the option to create an AI-generated avatar by recording footage of yourself using a webcam or phone.
synthetic
Synthesia, a British artificial intelligence startup, on Monday showed off a series of new product updates, including the ability to create your own Apple-style keynote presentations with graphics. AI avatar using just your laptop or phone webcam.
This seven-year-old company is backed by Nvidiasays new product updates will make it a more comprehensive video production suite for large companies, rather than just a platform that gives users the ability to create AI-generated avatars.
Among the new updates that Synthesia is rolling out are the ability to create AI avatars using a webcam or phone, “full-body” avatars using hands and arms, and a screen recording tool that displays avatars. AI interface guides you through the content you’re viewing.
What is synthesis?
Synthesia, which says it is used by nearly half of the Forfune 500, uses AI avatars for all purposes.
These can range from creating tailored training videos to instruct employees on certain processes, or creating promotional materials that can be displayed as videos instead of emails or other communications. in other documents.
But that’s not always the case. According to co-founder and CEO Victor Riparbelli, during the company’s first three years, Synthesia really started trying to sell its technology to Hollywood agencies and budget video production companies. big. The company used computer vision for an AI dubbing engine that makes mouth movements more vivid for different languages.
“What we realized is that the quality threshold to do anything with these people is so high, no matter what we do, we will just be a very small part of a much larger process.” London Office.
“What’s more interesting is the democratization aspect: There are millions of people in the world who want to make videos, but today they don’t make videos because they don’t have enough budget.”
In an Apple-style keynote, Synthesia’s CEO unveiled the company’s new products, introducing them as a more productivity-focused set of tools for businesses to use, rather than just is a platform that provides AI avatars.
Apple-style keynote with webcam
One of the biggest new features it introduced is the option to create an AI-generated avatar by recording less than 5 minutes of footage using your webcam or phone. You can also clone your voice so your avatar speaks in different languages
Normally, to create an AI avatar using Synthesia’s platform, you have to go directly to the studio. Human actors go into the recording studio, record their voices, and perform their lines in front of a green screen on the actual set.
This is all training data that feeds Synthesia’s AI algorithms with the facial and vocal nuances needed to create human-like avatars capable of speaking expressively. This early year, Synthesia launches new expressive avatars can convey human emotions, including happiness, sadness and disappointment.
But now, Synthesia is introducing new software that makes it easy for users to create digital versions of themselves from anywhere using just a webcam and Synthesia’s software.
The company is also rolling out the ability to create full-body avatars. This is different from Synthesia’s current avatars, which are limited to portrait views only. Now you can go into a studio with dozens of cameras, sensors, and lights around you to create avatars that can move their hands.
Generating hands is something AI has traditionally found difficult to do – often because hands are only a small part of the human body and are often not the focus of visual content.
Synthesia also launched the option to play videos of AI avatars speaking in any language they like, whether it’s English, French, German or Chinese.
In the future, Synthesia says, it will be able to tailor AI avatars to different countries: For example, a Nigerian avatar guides users through tutorials instead of an American one.
Synthesia’s AI video assistant can create summaries of entire articles and documents.
synthetic
Synthesia also launched a new AI video assistant that can generate summaries of entire articles and documents. For example, this could be an HR professional making a short video explaining the company’s benefits packages.
Synthesia’s screen recording tool displays an AI avatar that guides you through the content you’re viewing.
synthetic
Another big feature the company is rolling out is a new screen recording tool, which displays an AI avatar that guides you through the content you’re watching.
Don’t chase ‘PR moments’
In a CNBC interview with him, Riparbelli described what Synthesia is trying to do as an enterprise-focused product overhaul that would make it more in line with giants like Microsoft, Sales forceAnd Launch in the business category.
“The world has been blown away by this thing over the last 12 to 18 to 24 months, which is amazing,” Riparbelli told CNBC.
“But now, we’ve tested a lot and have found the right use cases for these technologies that deliver long-term business value. They don’t just feel like a short-term PR moment.”
“You need to realize the business goal of reducing customer support requests by showing video instead of text, or making sales by creating video instead of just sending emails,” he added.
“Now people are creating workflows around that problem. They need better ways to achieve their business goals than just interfaces with AI models. That’s where we I’m aiming for as a company.”
Last year, Synthesia has raised $90 million from investors including US chipmaker Nvidia and venture capital firm Accel, in a funding round that valued it at $1 billion and gave it “unicorn” status.
The company’s competitors include AI video tools Veed, Colossyan, Elai and HeyGen. And Chinese-owned social media app TikTok also recently launched Symphony Assistant, a product that allows creators to create their own AI avatars.
The company makes money through several subscription pricing plans, ranging from $22 for a “starter” plan and $67 for a “creator” plan, to custom “enterprise” plans where pricing Pricing is based on negotiations with Synthesia’s sales team.
