UK BUSINESS AI UNIVERSE: Labs: AI video

AI activity, tracked by AI

3 labs · 11 models and products · Companies

by Alex Connock

Experimental site researched using Gen AI.
Based on public sources. Hallucination & omission likely.

BETAwww.librairie.ai

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AI video

3 labs · 11 models and products Theme: Companies · Generated from this page's data. Click a name to open its panel on the Labs page. Records resting on one source are tagged "one source".

AI video tools turn a typed script into a finished video presented by a digital person, an "avatar", who speaks the words with matching lip movement, voice and gestures, without cameras, actors or studios. Synthesia, headquartered in London, is the lab on this tile; its customers use it mostly for company training (per the site), and it says it is used by over 90% of the Fortune 100. The tile lists its own avatar models (EXPRESS-1, Express-2, Express-3) and its Video Agents, which hold live conversations inside videos (per the site).

Context

  1. Synthesia raised a $200 million Series E, led by Google Ventures, at a $4 billion valuation. 26 January 2026 synthesia.io/post/series-e-200-million-4-billionhas raised a $200 million Series E funding round at a $4 billion valuation." (second source, trade: https://www.uktech.news/ai/synthesia-4bn-valuation-confirmed-after-google-led-series-e-20260126 — "has confirmed it has raised $200m (£146m) in a Google Ventures-led Series E round")
  2. Synthesia says its product is used by over 90% of the Fortune 100 companies. 26 January 2026 synthesia.io/post/series-e-200-million-4-billionused by over 90% of the Fortune 100.
  3. Synthesia is headquartered in London with offices across Europe and the US. 26 January 2026 synthesia.io/post/series-e-200-million-4-billionheadquartered in London, with offices across Europe and the US.
  4. The government consulted on how UK copyright law should apply to training AI models; the consultation closed on 25 February 2025. 17 December 2024 gov.uk/government/consultations/copyright-and-arThis consultation seeks views on how the government can ensure the UK’s legal framework for AI and copyright
  5. The government later published a report and impact assessment on the use of copyright works in AI development. 18 March 2026 gov.uk/government/publications/report-and-impactA report and impact assessment on the use of copyright works in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Labs Round 8 (31 Oct 2026): introduction and facts as the researchers wrote them; "(per the site)" marks a sentence resting on this site's own description of that lab.

RecordWhat it isPlaceLinksConfidence
ColossyanCompanies · also on Start-upsMakes software that turns a written script into a video presented by a computer-generated presenter, used mainly for workplace training.
Models and products (1)
  1. NEO avatar models (Colossyan: NEO, NEO 1.5, NEO 2) 2026-09 liveColossyan's own avatar models that turn audio into talking-head and full-body presenter video; NEO 2 also powers its dubbing.
Why it is here: reason: publishes its own avatar model family NEO, NEO 1.5 and NEO 2 (research team in computer vision and speech synthesis)
Selected papers (5)
  1. NEO 2: 40% Faster Generation Sep 2026one source
  2. NEO 1.5: Identity-Aware Performance May 2026one source
  3. Beyond Lip-Sync: Robust Video Dubbing Feb 2026one source
  4. NEO 2: Full-Body Expressive AI Avatars Jan 2026one source
  5. NEO: Expressive Talking Head Performance Colossyan research · Oct 2025one source Where it is listed
Key facts and news (1)
Offices
Headquarters Budapest, Hungary; office in London (company about page) — check uk_status one source colossyan.com/about/

Labs Round 8 (31 Oct 2026), from the researchers' rows; one-source items are marked.

London (EC4A 3TW)Companies House · tech.eu/2024/02/06/colossyans-ai-text-to-video-p · uktech.news/ai/colossyan-funding-20230228 · find-and-update.company-information.service.gov. · find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.verified
Dubbing 2.0 (Synthesia)Chips, models and productsSynthesia's upgraded video dubbing, translating speech into other languages with matching lip movements. live (product)Key facts Released 15 Jul 2026 to all customers; outputs in over 130 languages; Enterprise plans add editing workflow and unlimited dubbingMade by Synthesia · 2026-07-15Londonsynthesia.io/post/introducing-dubbing-2-0 · synthesia.io/blog/category/synthesialab's own pages
EXPRESS-1 (Expressive Avatars)Chips, models and productsSynthesia's avatar model that delivers a script with matching tone, body language and lip sync. released (product)Key facts Launched 22 Apr 2024. Figures in launch post (22 Apr 2024): over 200,000 people had used the platform; 225 avatars; more than 18 million video presentations; over 130 languages. Version history (lab posts): EXPRESS-1 (Apr 2024) → Express-2 (named with Synthesia 3.0, 1 Oct 2025; action avatars 13 Nov 2025) → Express-3 (15 Jul 2026).Made by Synthesia · 2024-04-22Versions EXPRESS-1 (Apr 2024) → Express-2 (named with Synthesia 3.0, 1 Oct 2025; action avatars 13 Nov 2025) → Express-3 (15 Jul 2026)20 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London (NW1 3BF) (via Synthesia)synthesia.io/post/expressive-avatars-powered-by-one source
Express-2 (customisable action avatars)Chips, models and productsSynthesia's second avatar model, which lets one avatar both explain and act out a short clip in the same editor. released (product)Key facts Express-2 named in Synthesia 3.0 (1 Oct 2025); six new action avatars announced 13 Nov 2025. Shutterstock footage licensed to pre-train EXPRESS-2 (10 Apr 2025, see DEAL-LAB-7001).Made by Synthesia · 2025-11-1320 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London (NW1 3BF) (via Synthesia)synthesia.io/post/synthesia-new-avatars-dont-jus · synthesia.io/post/partnering-shutterstock-accelelab's own pages
Express-3Chips, models and productsSynthesia's newest avatar model, with more natural lip sync, body movement and gestures that match the script. released (rolling out to all plans)Key facts Launched 15 Jul 2026 with a new AI Assistant; available to all users on every plan, rolling out first with new stock avatars. Figures on page: "up to 2x faster" (Assistant); 230+ avatars; 140+ languages.Made by Synthesia · 2026-07-1520 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London (NW1 3BF) (via Synthesia)synthesia.io/post/synthesia-launches-new-ai-assione source
Interactive Avatar APIChips, models and productsAn API that lets developers put a live talking Synthesia avatar into their own website or app. released (enterprise; managed version planned)Key facts Announced 15 Jul 2026; enterprise customers can use it now; fully managed version planned for 1 Oct 2026 (not confirmed as launched in this session). Developers can connect their own AI models.Made by Synthesia · 2026-07-1520 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London (NW1 3BF) (via Synthesia)synthesia.io/post/interactive-avatar-api-real-tione source
iSIZEhistoricalCompanies · also on Start-upsBuilt deep-learning software that prepares video so it streams at lower bitrates with better quality; bought by PlayStation's owner Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2023. acquiredWhy it is here: historical (acquired by Sony 2023; wind-down 2025 already on site) — reason: London team built deep neural networks as precoders for video codecs
Selected papers (1)
  1. Deep Video Precoding (Bourtsoulatze, Chadha, Fadeev, Giotsas, Andreopoulos; all iSIZE Ltd, London) arXiv preprint · Aug 2019
LondonCompanies House · sonyinteractive.com/en/sony-interactive-entertai · find-and-update.company-information.service.gov. · arxiv.org/pdf/1908.00812verified
NEO avatar models (Colossyan: NEO, NEO 1.5, NEO 2)Chips, models and productsColossyan's own avatar models that turn audio into talking-head and full-body presenter video; NEO 2 also powers its dubbing. liveKey facts NEO (Oct 2025); NEO 2 full-body audio-driven avatars (Jan 2026); NEO 1.5 identity-aware talking heads (May 2026); NEO 2 "40% faster generation" research note (Sep 2026)Made by Colossyan · 2026-09London (EC4A 3TW) (via Colossyan)colossyan.com/research/ · colossyan.com/one source
Personal Avatars (Synthesia digital twins)Chips, models and productsSynthesia feature that builds a talking digital copy of a real person from a photo, webcam or studio footage. live (paid plans)Key facts Photo avatars built on Express-2 technology, ready in minutes after consent; video avatars ready in 24 hours; Studio avatar is a paid add-on from green-screen footage; consent video must be recorded live; photo avatars on paid plans onlyMade by Synthesia · — (launch date not stated; docs page modified 22 Oct 2026)Londondocs.synthesia.io/docs/personal-avatarsone source
Sessions (Roleplay, Survey and Expert Sessions)Chips, models and productsSynthesia platform where interactive AI avatars hold live conversations with staff for coaching, surveys and guidance. live (Roleplay and Survey); Expert comingKey facts Roleplay Sessions introduced 22 Jul 2026; Sessions platform launched 1 Oct 2026; 78% of learners returned to retry a roleplay and 83% of those improved their score (company figures); Expert Sessions coming soon; Hays partnership on Roleplay Sessions 22 Oct 2026Made by Synthesia · 2026-10-01Londonsynthesia.io/post/sessions-interactive-avatar-pl · synthesia.io/blog/category/synthesialab's own pages
SynthesiaCompanies · also on SafetyMakes software that turns typed text into videos presented by digital human avatars, mostly for company training.
Profile
Founded
2017
Founders
Victor Riparbelli — CEO & Co-Founder; Steffen Tjerrild — COO & Co-Founder; Lourdes Agapito — co-founder (role not stated on page)
Chief executive
Victor Riparbelli — from null
Other leaders
Peter Hill — CTO; Ken Lawshe — CRO; Laura Gonzalez — Chief of Staff and Head of People; Gabe Stern — General Counsel; Joe Ciarallo — Head of Communications, United States; Brett Taylor — hired with Seattle expansion, 22 Jun 2026 (role not opened)
Hq
London (England: London) — 20 Triton Street, Regent's Place, NW1 3BF; other_offices: New York; Austin and Berlin (new, April 2026); Paris and Zurich (expanded, April 2026); Seattle (expansion, June 2026)
Headcount
careers page shows both "600+ GLOBAL EMPLOYEES" and "900+ GLOBAL EMPLOYEES" (undated, read 30 Oct 2026) — https://www.synthesia.io/careers; plan to grow global headcount by more than 70% in 2026 (21 Apr 2026). UK headcount not published; "roughly 80%" of London HQ staff are immigrants (careers page).
What it does
AI video platform for companies. Users type text and get training, sales or internal videos presented by AI avatars and voices in many languages. Newer products add interactive avatars that coach, interview and guide people, and a tool that makes video and motion graphics from a single prompt.
Research focus
AI avatars, video generation, dubbing, interactive video agents
Models and products
Syren — video and motion graphics from a single prompt — 9 Oct 2026; Sessions — platform where interactive avatars coach, interview and guide — 1 Oct 2026; AI Press Officer — 26 Aug 2026; Roleplay Sessions — 22 Jul 2026; Interactive Avatar API — 15 Jul 2026; Express-3 avatar model and AI Assistant — 15 Jul 2026; Dubbing 2.0 — 15 Jul 2026; Next-Gen Pronunciation Controls — 11 Jun 2026
Customers or partners named
Hays — Roleplay Sessions for skills development — 22 Oct 2026 — https://www.synthesia.io/blog/category/synthesia; NVIDIA — interactive avatar of its CEO at GTC Berlin — 20 Oct 2026 — same url; Nexity — customer quoted on production timelines — 21 Apr 2026 — https://www.synthesia.io/post/synthesia-global-expansion-austin-berlin-paris-zurich-2026; KnowBe4 — partnership — 20 Apr 2026 — https://www.synthesia.io/blog/category/synthesia; Multiverse — 3 Jun 2026 — same url; Cinder — trust and safety partner — 4 Jun 2026 — same url; AWS — 17 Sep 2025 — same url; "over 90% of the Fortune 100" — 26 Jan 2026 — https://www.synthesia.io/post/series-e-200-million-4-billion-valuation-future-work
Papers and awards
Fast Company "Next Big Things in Tech" list — 6 Oct 2026; signed the EU Article 50 Code of Practice — 29 Jul 2026
Valuation reported
4,000,000,000 USD — 26 Jan 2026 — https://www.synthesia.io/post/series-e-200-million-4-billion-valuation-future-work (single source)
Rounds found
2026-01-26 — Series E — 200,000,000 USD — GV (lead) — Evantic, Hedosophia, NVentures, Accel, Kleiner Perkins, NEA, PSP Growth, Air Street Capital, FirstMark, MMC Ventures; plus employee secondary sale run with Nasdaq at the same valuation; 2025-04-15 — strategic investment — undisclosed — Adobe Ventures (ARR passed $100m)
Uk government links
Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Government "to advance AI adoption and upskilling across the UK" — 9 Jun 2026
Status now
Valued at $4bn after its January 2026 Series E; expanding offices in the US and Europe and launching interactive-avatar products.

Labs Round 7 deep profile (30 Oct 2026), as the researchers wrote it; confidence: single_source.

Sources

  1. synthesia.io/post/series-e-200-million-4-billion
  2. synthesia.io/post/series-e-200-million-4-billion
  3. synthesia.io/careers
  4. synthesia.io/post/synthesia-global-expansion-aus
  5. synthesia.io/blog/category/synthesia
  6. synthesia.io/post/100-million-revenue-adobe-inve
Models and products (10)

Version chainsEXPRESS-1 (Apr 2024) → Express-2 (named with Synthesia 3.0, 1 Oct 2025; action avatars 13 Nov 2025) → Express-3 (15 Jul 2026)

  1. Personal Avatars (Synthesia digital twins) — (launch date not stated; docs page modified 22 Oct 2026) live (paid plans)Synthesia feature that builds a talking digital copy of a real person from a photo, webcam or studio footage.
  2. Syren (Synthesia prompt-to-video tool) 2026-10-09 betaSynthesia's tool that turns a written request or documents into a finished business video with motion graphics, avatars, voice and music.
  3. Sessions (Roleplay, Survey and Expert Sessions) 2026-10-01 live (Roleplay and Survey); Expert comingSynthesia platform where interactive AI avatars hold live conversations with staff for coaching, surveys and guidance.
  4. Express-3 2026-07-15 released (rolling out to all plans)Synthesia's newest avatar model, with more natural lip sync, body movement and gestures that match the script.
  5. Interactive Avatar API 2026-07-15 released (enterprise; managed version planned)An API that lets developers put a live talking Synthesia avatar into their own website or app.
  6. Dubbing 2.0 (Synthesia) 2026-07-15 live (product)Synthesia's upgraded video dubbing, translating speech into other languages with matching lip movements.
  7. Express-2 (customisable action avatars) 2025-11-13 released (product)Synthesia's second avatar model, which lets one avatar both explain and act out a short clip in the same editor.
  8. Synthesia 3.0 and Video Agents 2025-10-01 released (platform)Synthesia's 2025 platform release, adding Video Agents that hold real-time conversations inside videos.
  9. Synthesia 2.0 2024-06-23 released (platform)Synthesia's rebuilt business platform for making and sharing AI videos, with personal avatars and an AI video assistant.
  10. EXPRESS-1 (Expressive Avatars) 2024-04-22 released (product)Synthesia's avatar model that delivers a script with matching tone, body language and lip sync.
Selected papers (1)
  1. HumanRF: High-Fidelity Neural Radiance Fields for Humans in Motion arXiv preprint · 10 May 2023A method for capturing people in motion and re-rendering them from new viewpoints at near-production quality; most authors at Synthesia, with UCL and TU Munich.
Key facts and news (12)
Status now
Independent and growing: $200m Series E at $4bn valuation (Jan 2026); planned global headcount growth above 70% in 2026; new offices in Austin and Berlin, expanded Paris and Zurich (21 Apr 2026); Seattle team (22 Jun 2026); US headquarters in New York (Flatiron District) synthesia.io/post/synthesia-global-expansion-aus
Users and customers
Used by over 90% of the Fortune 100 and 95% of the DAX 40; contracts over $100,000 tripled in 12 months; net revenue retention above 140% (21 Apr 2026); 2M+ users and 50,000+ teams (15 Jul 2026); named customers Merck, Nexity, Mondelez International, SAP, Merck KGaA one source synthesia.io/post/synthesia-global-expansion-aus
Key facts
Annual recurring revenue grew from $40m to about $140m (company engineering blog, 10 Feb 2026) one source synthesia.io/blog/category/synthesia
Key facts
ARR passed $100m (15 Apr 2025), with use by over 70% of the Fortune 100 at that date and an Adobe Ventures strategic investment one source uktech.news/ai/synthesia-recurring-revenue-surpa
Research focus
Neural video synthesis of people: learned 2D and 3D representations (scenes), efficiency, generalisation from less recorded footage, speech-matched facial motion, and body language (dynamics); research led with co-founders Prof. Matthias Niessner (TU Munich) and Prof. Lourdes Agapito (UCL) synthesia.io/research
Customers and partners
Syren page states "Trusted by 50,000+ teams" and 2M+ users, with 230+ (header: 240+) avatars in 140+ languages (company figures, 9 Oct 2026; inconsistent avatar count on the page) one source synthesia.io/post/syren-studio

News

Labs Round 8 (31 Oct 2026), from the researchers' rows; one-source items are marked.

20 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London (NW1 3BF)Companies House · synthesia.io/post/series-e-200-million-4-billion · uktech.news/ai/synthesia-4bn-valuation-confirmed · synthesia.io/post/synthesia-secures-180m-in-seri · synthesia.io/newsroomverified
Synthesia 2.0Chips, models and productsSynthesia's rebuilt business platform for making and sharing AI videos, with personal avatars and an AI video assistant. released (platform)Key facts Announced 23 Jun 2024. Features announced: personal AI avatars (studio Expressive Avatar and webcam custom avatar, slated for the following month), AI Video Assistant, AI Screen Recorder, new video player; full-body avatars previewed. Figures on page (read 30 Oct 2026, undated banners): 2M+ users; 50,000+ teams; 1-click translation into over 120 languages.Made by Synthesia · 2024-06-2320 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London (NW1 3BF) (via Synthesia)synthesia.io/post/introducing-synthesia-video-coone source
Synthesia 3.0 and Video AgentsChips, models and productsSynthesia's 2025 platform release, adding Video Agents that hold real-time conversations inside videos. released (platform)Key facts Announced 1 Oct 2025. Named in the release: Video Agents; Express-2 full-body avatars; Express-Voice voice-cloning model; Veo 3 integration for avatar B-roll; Copilot and Courses planned for 2026. Dubbing in 30+ languages.Made by Synthesia · 2025-10-0120 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London (NW1 3BF) (via Synthesia)synthesia.io/post/synthesia-3-0-the-next-era-of-one source
Syren (Synthesia prompt-to-video tool)Chips, models and productsSynthesia's tool that turns a written request or documents into a finished business video with motion graphics, avatars, voice and music. betaKey facts Videos up to three minutes, horizontal or vertical; runs on a video rendering engine Synthesia built in-house, which has powered its motion graphics since June 2026; open to self-serve free users and all Enterprise customers (9 Oct 2026)Made by Synthesia · 2026-10-0920 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London (NW1 3BF) (via Synthesia)synthesia.io/post/syren-studio · synthesia.io/blog/category/synthesialab's own pages

Tile photo: 16 mm Film camera, Nefirious (talk), CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons).