Synthesia Secures $200M Funding at $4B Valuation

London-based AI video firm Synthesia has closed a $200 million funding round that nearly doubled its valuation to $4 billion.

Google’s venture arm GV led this latest round, bringing Synthesia’s total funding to over $500 million since launching in 2017.

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said in today’s (Jan. 26) announcement: “Synthesia is a UK success story, creating new jobs and opportunities in this country. It shows that by backing innovators to start, scale and stay in the UK through better access to finance and generous tax reliefs, we can turn the promise of AI into better-paid jobs and long-term growth across the UK.”

While consumer AI video tools tend to dominate headlines, Synthesia has built a platform that over 90% of Fortune 100 companies now use for employee training and communications. It’s doing well as revenue has gone from $100 million in April to over $150 million in annual recurring revenue.

AI avatars

The platform transforms text into professional videos featuring AI avatars that speak over 140 languages fluently with “uncanny expressiveness.”

Major clients like SAP, Merck, Heineken, Zoom, and Bosch are already using it for their workforce development programs.

Fintech firm Wise is now creating training content 20% faster using Synthesia’s AI video technology, case studies from three months ago demonstrated. PALFINGER AG has deployed over 300 videos to 9,000 learners across five languages, with simple videos now taking less than a day to create compared to weeks using traditional methods, their implementation data shows from seven months ago.

Meanwhile, Mondēlez International created 30,000 videos with Synthesia this year alone, proving this technology has moved far beyond experimentation into core business operations.

Rivals

Competition is intensifying rapidly. Synthesia faces direct challenges from tech giants like Adobe and OpenAI.

In fact, Adobe held talks to acquire Synthesia for $3 billion, but the deal fell through after the two sides couldn’t agree on price, The Information reported in October. Adobe Ventures had previously invested in Synthesia.

CEO Victor Riparbelli told Forbes that the company plans to differentiate by staying focused on business videos featuring human speakers rather than chasing consumer markets.

The future of work

Synthesia’s rejection of Adobe’s $3 billion offer and decision to pursue independence suggests the leadership team sees even greater opportunities ahead.

The startup plans to expand beyond training into a platform for all business video needs,

Numbers tell the story of a market that’s just getting started. With over 60% of companies now using generative AI and productivity gains of 60-70% being reported, AI statistics from five months ago show this isn’t a temporary trend—it’s possibly the new reality of work.

Google is expanding the reach of its AI filmmaking tool, Flow, by bringing it directly into Google Workspace.

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