A previous version of this article inaccurately stated that the founders of Pika had PhDs in AI. It has been corrected that the two founders dropped out of their respective PhD programs before completing them. Pika, an AI video-generation start-up, recently raised $80 million in funding. This investment trend is reflective of the significant capital being poured into artificial intelligence start-ups as they attempt to compete with industry giants like OpenAI and Google. Pika joins other video start-ups, namely Runway and Synthesia, in successfully raising substantial funds to further develop their tools over the past year. Data firm PitchBook reports a total venture capital investment of $25. 9 billion in AI and machine learning companies during the first quarter of 2024, marking an increase from $21. 7 billion in the previous year. After the widespread interest in text and image generators, using AI to generate videos has emerged as the next area of focus. Both start-ups and major technology companies are keenly investing in this space. Although video tools from OpenAI and Google are not yet publicly available, start-ups like Pika are rapidly expanding in order to establish themselves before the larger companies release their own commercial and consumer-oriented tools. However, generating videos with AI poses more technical challenges compared to creating still images. The process requires a significant amount of computer processing power, making it an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. Pika's tool allows users to generate short videos using AI based on text prompts. This latest funding round, which includes investments from Spark Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Greycroft, has raised Pika's valuation to $470 million. Pika has developed its own "foundation model" without relying on technology from other AI companies.

However, this approach is costly, and the company requires funding to continue training its AI and enhancing the features of its video-editing tool. Pika's tool allows users to generate short videos based on text prompts, offering options to adjust the aspect ratio, lengthen the videos, trim specific sections, and modify certain elements such as character attire. The 13-member team at Pika includes former researchers from Google, Meta, and Uber's AI divisions. The founders, Demi Guo and Chenlin Meng, dropped out of their AI PhD programs at Stanford University to establish the company. In an interview, Guo expressed confidence in the company's AI expertise and its ability to compete with financially better-endowed organizations. While AI video tools are still relatively basic, AI-generated static images have already become commonplace on social media platforms. Recently, an AI-generated image of a refugee camp with the caption "all eyes on Rafah" went viral, with social media users expressing support for Palestinians. In recent years, video-based content has dominated the most popular and lucrative social media platforms. Numerous apps exist to help regular users edit videos for platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Major social media platforms are also incorporating AI features into their apps, enabling users to create their own images. The rise of AI image generators has already led to their exploitation for propaganda purposes. During India's election, many candidates utilized deepfake images and audio. While deepfake detection tools have been developed, they often struggle to accurately identify AI-generated images or audio clips. With this latest funding round, Pika's total funding now amounts to $135 million. Larger AI companies such as OpenAI have access to substantial financial resources and employ hundreds of staff. OpenAI has started venturing into the consumer market, which may include video-editing tools, posing significant competition for smaller companies like Pika.