Introduction
Viggle, a Canadian AI startup, has announced a $19 million A-round investment led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Two Small Fish. This funding will help Viggle expand its scale, accelerate product development, and grow its team. The company, known for its work in creating controllable AI characters for memes and visualizing ideas, has also revealed its collaboration with Google Cloud to train and run its AI models.
Viggle’s Expansion Plans
Viggle’s CEO, Hang Chu, stated that the funds will be used to expand the company’s scale, accelerate product development, and grow the team. The startup has been working with Google Cloud and other cloud providers to train and run its AI models, which typically include access to GPU and TPU clusters.
The Unique AI Video Model
Viggle’s AI video model, JST-1, has been designed to truly understand physics, according to the company. This is a significant difference from other AI video models, which often create unrealistic character movements that do not comply with physical laws. Viggle’s model allows users to specify the actions they want characters to take, which results in more controlled and efficient generation of video content.
Applications of Viggle’s AI Model
Viggle’s AI model has been used to create viral memes, as seen in the example of Lil Yachty’s dance moves being mixed with Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker character. Users can upload original videos and character images, or provide text prompts and instructions to create animations from scratch. This has made Viggle’s model a valuable tool for content creators, filmmakers, animators, and video game designers.
Challenges and Controversies
The use of YouTube videos as training data for AI models has been a topic of controversy. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan stated in April that using YouTube videos to train AI text-to-video generators would clearly violate the platform’s service terms. However, Viggle’s spokesperson confirmed that the company uses YouTube videos for training purposes, ensuring compliance with all service terms and avoiding unauthorized video downloads.
Viggle’s Business Model
Viggle offers a free, limited version of its AI model on Discord and its web application. The company also provides a $9.99 subscription to increase capacity and offers special access to creators through a creator plan. Viggle is currently in talks with film and video game studios about licensing the technology and is seeing independent animators and content creators adopt the technology.
Conclusion
Viggle’s $19 million investment from a16z will help the company expand its scale, accelerate product development, and grow its team. The company’s unique AI video model and its applications in creating memes and visualizing ideas have made it a valuable tool for content creators. While the use of YouTube videos as training data has raised some concerns, Viggle has confirmed its compliance with all service terms and its commitment to maintaining good relationships with platforms like YouTube. As AI technology continues to evolve, Viggle’s innovative approach to AI video generation could play a significant role in shaping the future of content creation.
Views: 0