Video is quickly becoming the dominant medium of information exchange in the digital economy. And it shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, video consumption currently comprises more than 80% of all internet traffic.
As consumers, this is nothing new. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Fortnite have normalized video as a form of collaboration, entertainment, and education. However, as professionals, video is still relatively foreign. Static forms of media like text and images continue to dominate most professional workflows, with little-to-no applications of video.
So what gives? If the longstanding trend of ‘consumerization of enterprise’ carries weight, why are there such divergent adoption curves of video between consumers and professionals?
Our belief is that this stems from a lack of video creation tools in the workplace. For all the capabilities of the smartphone, creating professional-grade video content is still painful. Enterprises must procure cameras, film crews, actors, studios, lighting, and microphones to get started. And then invest in post-production editing and search for third-party agencies to help with localization and dubbing. Net net: it’s costly, complex, and time-intensive.
But what if we could replace studio equipment with just code? What if I told you the person in the video linked here isn't me, it's my avatar, created with just software and a script?
Enter Synthesia.
Synthesia is an AI-enabled video creation platform that reduces the video production process from months to minutes. It enables users to instantly create professional videos in their browser by simply adding text and choosing from a library of different avatars (with the ability to create their own). Today, Synthesia’s application and API are used by a number of Fortune 500 companies across a range of different use cases – from employee onboarding and training to sales and marketing automation.
Since first meeting Synthesia’s team in 2019, we’ve been incredibly impressed by their level of execution and product velocity. The company has delivered on everything they said they would, bringing the best properties of software to bear in video production – scalability, customizability, and near-zero marginal cost.
We’re excited to partner with Victor, Steffen, and the entire Synthesia team as they unlock mass customization of video at scale and change how we communicate in the workplace – with video as code. The next time you’re thinking about writing a long email or PDF, consider creating a video instead with Synthesia.
ー Josh