On Tuesday, Chinese media outlet 36Kr reported that Boolv, an AI video generation software as a service (SaaS) provider, closed two consecutive rounds of funding for nearly $10 million within three months. The two rounds featured investment from Linear Capital, Volcanics Venture, Decent Capital and UpHonest Capital. Proceeds from these rounds are primarily to be used for talent expansion and product development.
With the heating up of the global e-commerce industry since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, an opportunity to reshape online marketing has presented itself. In the past, digital advertising was mostly picture-based, presenting information in a limited way, and involving a gradual increase in traffic costs. As a result, image placement increasingly became a constraint for brand sellers.
In overseas markets, following the rise of TikTok, major platforms all set out to increase their bets in the short video sector. Facing soaring demand for short video marketing, Boolv, which was founded in 2021, focuses on AI and data mining technology, generating short marketing videos automatically. It currently serves mainly apparel brands and DTC brands overseas, and plans a gradual expansion to other categories and markets soon.
“The short-video marketing field is actually in its infancy globally, and companies are actively laying out their plans. Canva, with a market cap of $40 billion, and Vimeo, with $4 billion, are acquiring AI and video-related companies very aggressively,” contends analyst Wang Qing. In comparison to overseas unicorns such as Canva and Vimeo, Wang opines that Chinese teams have more advantages in short-video technology, cross-border brand marketing and cross-technology awareness.
Most of the core members of Boolv hail from , ByteDance, Tesla and other major companies. In addition, many team members graduated from internationally renowned universities such as the University of Pennsylvania, Oxford University, University of California Berkeley and the University of Hong Kong, and have extensive hands-on experience in global products.
Regarding technology, Boolv is in no way bound to a single type of algorithm, but keeps exploring cross-domain, cross-scene and cross-modal algorithms and models. For example, it develops and implements dress-up technology, face-changing technology, video dynamization technology, and even supports merchants to select virtual models from a library.
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