Key Takeaways
- Hedra, an AI company known for creating tools behind viral animated videos, has secured $32 million in new funding.
- The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz’s Infrastructure fund, bringing Hedra’s total capital raised to $44 million.
- Hedra specializes in technology that creates lifelike and animated characters for videos, images, and audio.
- The company plans to use the funds to expand its team, open a New York office, and explore more uses for its technology in marketing.
Hedra, the AI video startup that powered those amusing baby podcast memes you might have seen, recently announced a $32 million Series A funding boost. Andreessen Horowitz’s Infrastructure fund spearheaded this investment round, which also saw contributions from existing backers like A16z Speedrun, Abstract, and Index Ventures.
You might recognize Hedra’s work from a viral video where a baby appeared to interview a dog on a podcast. That magic was crafted by comedian Jon Lajoie using Hedra’s platform, which allows users to generate images, video, and audio through a web-based studio.
Michael Lingelbach, Hedra’s CEO, told Business Insider that their technology excels at creating “the most controllable, compelling characters, whether that’s a hyperrealistic human or an animated character or even an animal.” This latest investment brings Hedra’s total funding to $44 million since its 2024 launch, though the company hasn’t shared its current valuation.
The world of generative AI is bustling, with many companies working on video and avatar technology. However, Lingelbach clarified that Hedra isn’t trying to directly compete with giants like Google Veo or Sora. Instead, they are zeroing in on “building the best character models.”
Hedra’s core technology, called Character-3, is an “omnimodal” model. This means it combines images, text, and audio to produce video. Creating a character typically starts with an image, followed by adding audio, which can be pre-recorded or generated from text.
“Both voice and video are seeing rapid evolution right now,” Lingelbach noted, adding that their current model has made a “big leap forward on naturalness of expression.” The platform also allows users to integrate tools from other services like ElevenLabs or Google Veo seamlessly into their workflow.
While Hedra’s main users have been professional creators and marketers, the company has seen a wide array of applications. “My Instagram and TikTok feed are filled with various memes and also more serious content now that’s AI-generated,” Lingelbach mentioned. Podcast-related content, like the viral baby interviews or Studio Ghibli-style video clips of classic podcast moments, has been particularly popular.
With this new capital, Hedra aims to tap further into enterprise marketing, grow its team, and establish a presence in New York City. Insights from their successful pitch deck, parts of which were shared with Business Insider, reveal a strong focus on storytelling through characters.
The company’s pitch highlighted that compelling characters are central to good stories, and Hedra aims to make their creation easier. Their Character-3 model is described as the first “omnimodal foundation model” in production, capable of handling human, animated, and animal characters from any angle, and was developed efficiently on a budget under $2 million.
Hedra identified key customer groups: everyday consumers creating fun content, “prosumers” developing video podcasts and social media content, and marketing teams using it for user-generated content styles and product tutorials. They also signaled strong interest from businesses for professional uses and plans for enterprise features like team management and enhanced security.
The startup emphasized its strong research team and proprietary technology, aiming to overcome the “uncanny valley” in digital characters. They pride themselves on being a product-focused, user-responsive, and capital-efficient team. The leadership includes CEO Michael Lingelbach, with a background from Stanford, and experts from Google Brain/Deepmind and other tech ventures.
Hedra’s vision is ambitious: to build the world’s leading end-to-end storytelling platform, stating, “We’re just getting started.”
