Jared Leto, the actor and musician, has made a significant investment in a startup called Captions, which specializes in generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology for video creation and editing. Captions recently announced its Series C funding round, which included major investors such as Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, and Adobe. This funding round raised $60 million, bringing the company’s total raised funds to $100 million and valuing the company at $500 million.
Captions has already released several AI tools, focusing primarily on videos where a person is speaking directly to the camera. These tools, such as AI Creator, AI Edit, and Lipdub, have caught the attention of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic have also entered the video generation market, and there has been a surge of startups exploring video generation technology, like Runway ML. Leto, who has previously invested in another gen AI startup called Pika, sees the potential of using this technology in music videos for his band Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Gaurav Misra, co-founder and CEO of Captions, expressed excitement about New York City becoming an emerging epicenter for AI and the company’s mission to democratize video creation. He said, “We believe that New York is quickly emerging as the epicenter for AI, and look forward to expanding our team here and furthering our mission of democratizing video creation, so that anyone can effectively share their stories or ideas.”
Damir Becirovic, a partner at Index Ventures, emphasized the power of storytelling and how Captions' AI-enabled video creation product allows users to bring their stories to life in unimaginable ways. He predicted a “huge wave of incredible stories that are imagined and directed by Captions users.”
It’s evident that Captions' innovative AI technology is capturing the attention of investors and industry experts alike. Leto’s investment, along with the backing of major venture capitalists, demonstrates the confidence in the company’s potential to revolutionize video creation and editing. With this significant funding and support, Captions is poised to make a lasting impact in the rapidly evolving AI and video production landscape.
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