Samsung is investing an undisclosed amount in Seattle-based American AI startup Irreverent Labs. The South Korean tech giant is said to be particularly interested in a yet-to-be-developed API for an AI platform for video.
Samsung made the investment through its own startup funding fund Samsung Next, Irreverent Labs confirmed on LinkedIn. The investment will allow the South Korean tech giant to gain easier access to the AI technology being developed by the American startup.
Generative AI video platform
Irreverent Labs previously produced a video game with built-in cryptocurrency. But the startup now manages to attract the interest of Samsung because it is currently developing generative AI models for video content. More specifically, this involves a generative AI model that can produce short videos based on delivered text instructions. Also, the model should be able to produce videos based on photos or short clips. The underlying neural network for these models should become public later this year.
Projects are also underway to develop an API that will allow developers to build the generative AI model for videos into their own applications or software.
The solutions are aimed primarily at social media content creators. But in the longer term, the startup hopes to offer the functionality to users who have no experience with video creation.
Benefits investment
Samsung can use the technology in its devices through the recent investment. Samsung users can then create their own videos via a special app from the brand, for example. Furthermore, the AI startup would work with various Samsung business units on a “distribution strategy”.
For Irreverent Labs, the South Korean tech giant’s investment is also important to attract more capital from other potential investors.
Also read: Vimeo introduces end-to-end AI-powered video creation suite