Synthesia has launched an option to create AI-generated avatars by recording footage of yourself with a webcam or phone.
Synthesis
Among the new updates Synthesia is rolling out is the ability to create AI avatars using webcams or a phone, full-body avatars with hands and arms, and a screen recording tool that shows an AI avatar guiding you through what you are looking at
Synthesia, which says it’s used by nearly half of the Fortfune 500, uses AI avatars for all sorts of purposes.
These can range from creating customized training videos to guide employees through certain processes, or generating promotional materials that can be displayed as a video rather than an email or other text communication.
But this was not always the case. According to co-founder and CEO Victor Riparbelli, in the first three years of the company’s history, Synthesia actually began trying to sell its technology to Hollywood agencies and big-budget video production companies. The firm uses computer vision for an AI dubbing tool that makes mouth movements more realistic for different languages.
“What we realized is that the quality threshold to do something with these guys is so high that no matter what we do, we’re going to be a very small part of a much larger process,” Riparbelli told CNBC in an interview in the company’s London office.
“What was more interesting was the democratization aspect: there are millions of people around the world who want to make video, but they’re not making video today because they don’t have the budget.”
In an Apple-style keynote, Synthesia’s CEO unveiled the firm’s new products, touting them as a more productivity-focused suite of tools for business use, rather than just a platform that offers AI avatars.
One of the biggest new features the company showed off was an option to create AI-generated avatars by recording less than five minutes of footage using a webcam or your phone. You can also clone your voice to make avatars speak multiple different languages
Normally, to make an AI avatar using Synthesia’s platform, you have to go to a studio in person. Human actors enter a sound booth, record their voices and deliver lines in front of a green screen on an actual film set.
That’s all the training data to give Synthesia’s AI algorithm the facial and vocal nuances it needs to create human avatars that speak expressively. Earlier this year, Synthesia unveiled new expressive avatars that can convey human emotions, including happiness, sadness and frustration.
But now Synthesia is introducing new software that will make it easier for users to create a digital version of themselves from anywhere using just a webcam and Synthesia software.
The company also launched the ability to create full-body avatars. This is different from the current Synthesia avatars, which are limited to portrait view only. Now you can go into a studio with dozens of cameras, sensors and lights all around you to make avatars that can move their arms.
Generating hands is something that has traditionally been difficult for AI – often because hands are only a small part of the human body and are usually not the focus of visual content.
Synthesia also debuted the option to play videos of AI avatars speaking in any language they like, be it English, French, German or Chinese.
In the future, Synthesia says it will be able to tailor AI avatars for different countries: For example, a Nigerian avatar that walks a user through a tutorial, rather than an American one.
Synthesia’s AI video assistant can create summaries of entire articles and documents.
Synthesis
Synthesia has also released a new AI video assistant that can create summaries of entire articles and documents. This could be, for example, an HR professional making a short video explaining the company’s benefits packages.
Synthesia’s screen recorder displays an AI avatar that guides you through what you’re watching.
Synthesis
Another big feature the company is rolling out is a new screen recording tool that displays an AI avatar to guide you through what you’re watching.
In CNBC’s interview with him, Riparbelli characterized what Synthesia is trying to do as an enterprise-focused product overhaul that would bring it closer to giants like Microsoft, Salesforce and Zoom in the enterprise category.
“The world has been hit by these things in the last 12 to 18 to 24 months, which is great,” Riparbelli told CNBC.
“But now we’ve experimented a lot and found the right use cases for these technologies that have lasting business value. They are not just a short-term PR moment.”
“You need to achieve this business goal of reducing customer support tickets by showing videos instead of text; or sell by making videos instead of just sending emails,” he added.
“Now people are building workflows around it. They need better ways to achieve their business goals, not just an interface with AI models. That’s where we’re going as a company.”
Synthesia last year 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 social media app TikTok also recently debuted Symphony Assistant, a product that lets creators make their own AI avatars.
The company makes money through a number of subscription pricing plans, ranging from $22 for a “starter” plan and $67 for a “creator” plan, to customized “enterprise” plans, where pricing is based on negotiations with Synthesia’s sales team.
