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Synthesia (company)

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Synthesia
Company typePrivate
IndustryArtificial intelligence
Founded2017; 7 years ago (2017)
FounderLourdes Agapito, Matthias Niessner, Victor Riparbelli, Steffen Tjerrild
Headquarters
London
,
England
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsSynthetic media, Artificial Intelligence, Video editing software
Number of employees
c. 200[1] (2023)
Websitesynthesia.io

Synthesia is a synthetic media generation company that develops software used to create AI generated video content. It is based in London, England.

Overview

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Synthesia is most often used by corporations for communication, orientation, and training videos.[2] It has been used in advertising campaigns, reporting, product demonstrations, and to create chatbots.[3][4]

Synthesia's software algorithm mimics speech and facial movements based on video recordings of an individual’s speech and phoneme pronunciation. From this a text-to-speech video is created to look and sound like the individual.[5][6]

Users create content via the platform's pre-generated AI presenters[3] or by creating digital representations of themselves, or personal avatars, using the platform's AI video editing tool.[7] These avatars can be used to narrate videos generated from text. As of August 2021, Synthesia's voice database included multiple gender options in over sixty languages.[7][8]

The platform prohibits use of its software to create non-consensual clones, including of celebrities or political figures for satirical purposes.[9] Explicit consent must be provided in addition to a strict pre-screening regimen for use of an individual’s likeness to avoid “deepfaking”.[10]

History

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Synthesia's software utilizes deep learning architecture developed by Lourdes Agapito and Matthias Niessner. The company was co-founded in 2017 by Agapito, Niessner, Victor Riparbelli, and Steffen Tjerrild.[11] In 2018, the company first demonstrated the software’s capabilities on the BBC programme Click when it presented a digitization of Matthew Amroliwala speaking Spanish, Mandarin, and Hindi.[12]

Synthesia raised $3.1 million in seed funding in 2019.[4] In 2020, Synthesia users were reported to include Amazon, Tiffany & Co. and IHG Hotels & Resorts.[13][14]

In April 2021, the company raised $12.5 million in Series A funding.[7] In December 2021, it raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and GV.[15]

In 2021, Synthesia partnered with Lay's to create the Messi Messages campaign featuring Argentine footballer Lionel Messi. Users created personalized messages with Synthesia's software and sent custom artificial reality video messages from Messi based on their text input.[16] The campaign received a Cannes Lion Award.[17]

Synthesia gained a total valuation of $1 billion, achieving unicorn status, when it raised $90 million from Accel and Nvidia partnership NVentures, in June 2023, during its Series C funding round.[18][19]

While the company prohibits use of its technology for misinformation or "news-like content",[20] an October 2023 Freedom House report stated that Synthesia tools had been used by governments in Venezuela and China to create videos of fake TV news outlets with AI-generated avatars in order to spread propaganda.[21] The company stated, in February 2024, that it had improved its misuse detection systems,[20] and, in April 2024, that new users of its technology are screened by the company, and content employing it is further vetted by Synthesia moderators.[22]

In January 2024, the company introduced its AI video assistant, which turns text-to-video.[23] That April, with a reported 55,000 subscribers, including half of the Fortune 100, Synthesia launched "expressive avatars".[22]

References

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  1. ^ Wiggers, Kyle. "Synthesia secures $90M for AI that generates custom avatars". TechCrunch. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ^ Crook, Jordan (8 December 2021). "Synthesia raises $50M to leverage synthetic avatars for corporate training and more". TechCrunch. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b Khalid, Amrita. "The Next Great Tool for Winning Customers and Training Employees: Deepfakes". Inc.
  4. ^ a b Roettgers, Janko (22 August 2019). "How AI Tech Is Changing Dubbing, Making Stars Like David Beckham Multilingual". Variety. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. ^ Simonite, Tom. "Deepfakes Are Now Making Business Pitches". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Dubbing is coming to a small screen near you". The Economist. 21 December 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Crook, Jordan (20 April 2021). "Synthesia's AI video generation platform hooks $12.5 million Series A led by FirstMark". TechCrunch. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  8. ^ Dale, Robert (8 April 2022). "The voice synthesis business: 2022 update". Natural Language Engineering. 28 (3): 401–408. doi:10.1017/S1351324922000146. ISSN 1351-3249.
  9. ^ Heilweil, Rebecca (29 June 2020). "How deepfakes could actually do some good". Vox. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Synthesia, which is developing AI to generate synthetic videos, secures $50M". VentureBeat. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  11. ^ Butcher, Mike (25 April 2019). "The startup behind that deep-fake David Beckham video just raised $3M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  12. ^ "BBC World News - Click, Top Quality Fake News, BBC newsreader 'speaks' languages he can't". BBC. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. ^ Singh, Jaspreet. "AI startup Synthesia gains unicorn status after Nvidia-backed fundraise". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  14. ^ "AI Video Creation Pioneer Synthesia Raises $90 Million Series C Led by Accel". Business Wire. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  15. ^ Lee, Jane Lanhee (8 December 2021). "AI video avatar platform Synthesia raises $50 mln in venture capital". Reuters. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  16. ^ "You can now send personalised videos from an AI version of Messi. It's weird". ESPN.com. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  17. ^ "The Work | Lions Entry | Messi Messages". The Work. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. ^ Burroughs, Callum (13 June 2023). "Generative AI startup Synthesia just raised $90 million in fresh funds from US fund Accel and Nvidia at a $1 billion valuation". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  19. ^ Singh, Jaspreet (13 June 2023). "AI startup Synthesia gains unicorn status after Nvidia-backed fundraise". Reuters. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  20. ^ a b In Big Election Year, A.I.’s Architects Move Against Its Misuse The New York Times accessed 19 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Generative AI Is the Newest Tool in the Dictator's Handbook". Gizmodo. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  22. ^ a b Nvidia-backed startup Synthesia unveils AI avatars that can convey human emotions CNBC accessed 19 August 2024.
  23. ^ Synthesia launches LLM-powered assistant to turn any text file or link into AI video Venture Beat accessed 19 August 2024.
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