Lightspeed, AV8 Ventures back video creation platform Rephrase.ai

Bengaluru-based Rephrase Technologies, which operates Rephrase.ai, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for customisable video creation, said it has raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round from Lightspeed India Partners and Palo Alto-based venture capital firm AV8 Ventures. 

The company will use the fresh capital to strengthen its engineering and research teams, and boost its commercial presence in North America, a statement said. 

The startup, which was part of the first batch of TechStars India Accelerator programme in 2019, helps users create personalised videos using facial reenactment technology. The artificial intelligence (AI)-based engine generates synthetic media, automating the process of video making. 

Founded in 2018 by IIT alumni Ashray Malhotra, Shivam Mangla and Nisheeth Lahoti, Rephrase.ai looks to deploy its personalised video SaaS platform to aid digital marketing agencies and B2B SaaS enterprises create sales and marketing content. The synthetic media platform helps brands customise their content to address customers individually.

“Our goal at Rephrase.ai is to reimagine how we communicate to better match our visual culture,” co-founder Malhotra, also the CEO of Rephrase.ai, said in the statement. 

“Now, enterprises can create high quality video content for targeted sales and marketing initiatives while saving time and money. This technology will change the way we think about video production, both for business communication today and filmmaking in the future,” he added.

Hemant Mohapatra, partner at investor Lightspeed India Partners, said: “Personalization is a huge lever to unlock ROI especially in sales and marketing where a white-glove personalized experience really makes a difference in engagement and outcomes.” 

“We are already seeing companies run video-based marketing campaigns that see click-through rates of 4x over other personalized emails, but these videos are recorded individually, are expensive and unscalable. Rephrase.ai’s platform allows companies to create millions of personalized videos using real models with just text as input,” he said.

In August, Lightspeed India Partners announced a $275 million Fund III for early stage investments, and a dedicated team of two to evaluate deals from Southeast Asia. 

In February, AI-based video editing platform Invideo, which operates in a similar space as Rephrase.ai, raised $2.5 million from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge platform and angel investors.