LONDON — Synthesia, a video platform leveraging AI to create multilingual human avatars, recently raised $180 million in funding, valuing the startup at $2. 1 billion, over double its previous $1 billion valuation in 2023. Based in London, Synthesia announced that NEA led the funding round, with participation from Atlassian Ventures, World Innovation Lab, and PSP Growth. NEA’s portfolio includes Uber and TikTok parent ByteDance, and Synthesia also has backing from Nvidia. CEO Victor Riparbelli explained on CNBC that investors view Synthesia as unique due to its emphasis on "utility. " He mentioned, "The hype cycle benefits us, but our focus is on building a truly good business. " Unlike other AI firms like OpenAI or Anthropic, Synthesia isn’t "dependent" on venture capital. Other AI startups such as Veed. io and Runway are also innovating video production. Meanwhile, companies like OpenAI and Adobe have developed generative AI tools for video creation. Eric Liaw of VC firm IVP told CNBC that AI application layer companies haven't attracted as much investor interest as infrastructure firms. He explained that these companies often need less funding, leading to lower valuations compared to giants like Nvidia. Riparbelli stated that the funds from this round would continue to drive product development and enhance security and compliance. Last year, Synthesia upgraded its platform to include features like creating AI avatars with a webcam or phone, full-body avatars with arms and hands, and a screen recording tool featuring an AI avatar guide. In October, Synthesia addressed AI safety issues with a public red team test led by Rumman Chowdhury, a noted data scientist and former head of AI ethics at Twitter.

This test assessed online harm risks and emphasized how the company's compliance measures prevent the misuse of avatars, such as creating non-consensual deepfakes or promoting harmful content. Riparbelli noted growing interest from large U. S. enterprise customers, attributing this to strong focus on security and compliance. Over half of Synthesia's annual revenue now comes from the U. S. , with Europe accounting for almost the other half. The company is expanding its team, recently hiring former Amazon executive Peter Hill as CTO, and now employs over 400 people globally. Synthesia's funding news aligns with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 50-point plan to position the U. K. as a leader in AI. UK Technology Minister Peter Kyle highlighted the investment as an indicator of confidence in British tech and the pioneering role of U. K. -based companies in generative AI innovation.