Highlights:
- Viggle AI’s other key priorities include expanding its team and improving the AI that drives its video generation service.
- Viggle AI also focuses on increasing its workforce and advancing the AI technology behind its video generation service.
Recently, a startup known for its popular video generation service, Viggle AI, secured USD 19 million in the early-stage funding round.
The Series A funding round, which raised USD 19 million, was spearheaded by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Two Small Fish. Toronto-based Viggle AI, officially known as WarpEngine Canada Inc., intends to utilize this capital to accelerate product development and implement growth initiatives.
Founded in 2022 by CEO Hang Chu, Viggle AI is at the forefront of revolutionizing character animation through generative artificial intelligence. Prior to this, he served as a principal research scientist at Autodesk Inc.’s machine learning lab and earlier worked at Nvidia Corp. Viggle AI offers a generative artificial intelligence service that enables users to create short video clips using natural language prompts.
To use the service, users need to upload an image along with a text snippet describing how the image should be animated. Alternatively, they can replace the text snippet with a video demonstrating the desired motion for the animation. Viggle AI then leverages its custom foundation model, JST-1, to automatically transform the uploaded content into a short video.
There are several other services on the market with similar capabilities. However, Viggle AI asserts that its JST-1 model distinguishes itself through its “genuine understanding of physics.” This feature, according to the company, enables the AI to produce more realistic character movements compared to other neural networks.
Since launching its service to the public, Viggle AI has amassed an installed user base of over four million. Creative professionals use the software to develop proof-of-concept animations during the prototyping phase of their projects. At the same time, hobbyists can generate clips that would otherwise require a substantial time commitment to produce.
The company generates revenue through a paid Pro tier, which provides higher usage limits for USD 9.99 per month. To expand its market presence, Viggle AI plans to use its new funding to launch a creator program that will offer participants a Pro subscription and video creation credits. Additionally, the company is promising early access to new features for program members.
Viggle AI also aims to expand its team and improve the AI behind its video generation service. A major media outlet reports that the company is planning enhancements to enable the creation of more advanced clips.
Viggle AI is competing in a crowded market. OpenAI and Runway AI Inc., which is reportedly seeking to raise an additional USD 450 million, also provide video generation models. Additionally, smaller players like Hotshot, which launched its latest video generation model last week, are further intensifying the competition.
Animating images is just one of the many applications for video generation models. In July, Stability AI Ltd. launched Stable Video 4D, a neural network that can take a short clip and automatically adjust the camera angle. This model can recreate a video from eight different perspectives in roughly 40 seconds.
AI video generators are also beginning to be utilized beyond creative workflows. In March, Covariant Inc., a venture-backed industrial automation firm, introduced a video generation model called RFM-1. This model assists the company’s robotic arms in planning the optimal methods for tasks, such as transferring a box from one conveyor belt to another.