UK video technology start-up Synthesia has become a global software company, with annual turnover set to exceed $100mn, by looking at its business model through a wider lens.
The London-based company, which has developed an online platform that enables businesses to turn text into professional-grade videos using artificial intelligence, originally targeted the video production departments of entertainment and advertising companies with an AI dubbing product.
For two years after it was founded in 2017, the company employed just 10 people and was struggling to make any sales. But it dawned on management that its lack of growth might have been because its product was relatively niche.
The company’s original focus was “too narrow”, says Daniel Verten, Synthesia’s head of strategy, adding that AI dubbing only provided a solution for a “narrow step within the larger value chain of studio productions”.
As Verten and his team continued to network with potential customers, it became clear there was an even bigger opportunity for an AI platform that could help companies of all industries and sizes create high-quality videos quickly and easily.
