Synthesia, a London-based company that creates AI-driven platforms for generating human-like video clips, has raised $180 million in late-stage funding, valuing the startup at $2.1 billion.
The firm announced today that the Series D round was led by venture capital firm NEA. Since its previous funding round in 2023, Synthesia's valuation has doubled from $1 billion. Existing investors such as GV, MMC Ventures, and Firstmark, along with new investors including World Innovation Lab, Atlassian Ventures, and PSP Growth, participated in this round. The tools developed by the company enable enterprise users to swiftly create and distribute synthetic AI videos featuring realistic human avatars instead of real people.
It also leverages AI to assist in editing and producing the final video, eliminating the need for complex production software. Over the past year, Synthesia introduced several updates to its platform, such as creating personalized avatars using webcams or smartphones that can be paired with voice clones. These avatars look like the user, sound like them, and can speak in over 30 languages. Additionally, there is a full-body avatar option where arms and hands move during speech. For users who prefer not to use personalized avatars, more than 230 pre-made realistic avatars are available, capable of speaking in over 140 languages. Synthesia’s video player automatically plays videos in the viewer's language, making distribution easier. The company has also added the ability to include multiple avatars in one scene to simulate conversations on any topic.
“Since founding the company in 2017, we have believed that AI would quickly shift communication from text to high-fidelity formats like video and audio,” said co-founder and CEO Victor Riparbelli. “This vision has now become a reality.” Riparbelli noted that Synthesia serves over 60,000 customers ranging from the world’s largest brands to thousands of small businesses. The new investment will be used to expand the company’s product talent pool. Currently, Synthesia employs 400 people. Looking ahead, the company plans to add features allowing enterprise users to generate interactive video experiences for their customers, such as clickable hotspots, embedded forms, and quizzes. It also intends to develop the next generation of AI avatars that are more expressive in body language, incorporating whole-body movements like touching hips and crossing arms while speaking.
