Big Tech's Text-to-Video Takeover Threatens AI Startups

🌎 In this week’s edition of ‘As the AI World Turns,’ OpenAI previews its stunning text-to-video tool, Sora, bringing into question the future of numerous highly valued startups.

Google showcased its equally impressive text-to-video generator, Lumiere, a few weeks ago (yay, Google, for finally beating OpenAI to the punch on something!). 

With OpenAI showing off its version earlier this week, the inevitable Big Tech takeover of another LLM capability looks set to begin sometime this year when these tools likely hit the market.

The 6-year-old company Runway, considered by many to offer the best commercially available text-to-video tool at the moment, garnered a $1.5 billion valuation in its June 2023 Series C raise.

Another company in the space, Synthesia, was valued at $1 billion during its funding round around the same time.

And the money hasn’t exactly stopped pouring into startups in this space since then. 

The UK’s Colossyan received $22 million about a week ago.

Will companies like these maintain their lofty valuations–or even survive at all?

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I also wonder about the impact on the entertainment industry.

How long before we start seeing movies and shows that feature recurring synthetic actors that we grow attached to?

AI-generated influencers are already attracting devoted followers, so why not? 

Might we even see synthetic actors up for Oscars one day?

It’s getting real (or fake?), folks.