Tech start-up Pika, based in San Francisco, has successfully raised $80 million in its recent funding round, bringing its valuation to $470 million. The company aims to challenge industry leaders in AI-generated video production with its innovative tool and team of AI experts.
San Francisco-based AI video-generation start-up Pika has secured $80 million in its latest funding round. This round brings its valuation to $470 million, and features investments from Spark Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Greycroft. Pika aims to compete with industry giants like OpenAI and Google in the burgeoning field of AI-generated video.
Pika’s tool allows users to create short AI-generated videos from text prompts. The funding will help the company continue training its AI, improve its video-editing features, and manage the high computational costs associated with AI video generation. Pika’s team includes 13 members with backgrounds in AI research from companies like Google, Meta, and Uber.
The AI video space has seen increased investment, with $25.9 billion poured into AI and machine-learning companies in Q1 2024, according to PitchBook. While video generation presents more technical challenges compared to image generation, Pika’s founders, Demi Guo and Chenlin Meng, express confidence in their team’s expertise.
In the context of wider AI adoption, static AI images have already seen significant use across social media, often for propaganda purposes. AI-generated content, however, is on the rise, especially as social media platforms explore integrating AI into user-generated content features.
Despite the growing competition, Pika aims to carve out its space by focusing on building robust AI models independently of larger tech companies, potentially avoiding the massive budgets required by industry heavyweights. The latest funding round places Pika in a strong position to further develop its technology and expand its market presence.