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Fal.ai Raising $. Fal.ai, an up and coming developer-focused platform for AI-generated audio, video, and images, raises $23M in funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
Fal offers two products: privately managed compute and workflows for running models, and APIs for open-source models that generate images, audio, and video. Fal’s customers include Visual 1st alumni Freepik and Photoroom.
Cober & WCD. Acquisition. Canada consolidates – in the print world that is. Cober acquires West Canadian Digital Imaging (WCD)’s digital print and wide format signage division. According to Cober, the acquisition reinforces their commitment to delivering brand solutions throughout Canada.
YouTube. AI infused video. Of course, with lots of AI floating around in Alphabet at large, YouTube was prone to further tap into the company’s AI treasure chest.
Announced last week: the new Inspiration tab in the YouTube Studio app. This tool will aid creators by suggesting a concept for a video, providing a title and a thumbnail, and even writing an outline and the first few lines of the video.
Also announced is the integration of DeepMind’s Veo video-generation model in the YouTube Shorts editor, enabling the user to create up to 6 seconds GenAI videos. The clips will be watermarked with DeepMind’s SynthID tool, plus a visual indication that they’re generated by AI.
Google Photos. AI infused video. Google is also updating the mobile video editor on its Photos app for Android and iOS, adding new editing tools and AI-powered presets that should make it easier for users to trim and tweak their clips. The new presets can make specific adjustments with a single tap, such as automatically trimming video, controlling speed, and adjusting lighting.
Snapchat. AI-generated video. Not to be left behind, Snapchat announced an AI video-generation tool for creators. The tool will allow select creators to generate AI videos from text prompts and, soon, from image prompts. Snapchat will display “icons and context cards” to let users know when a Snap is made with Snap AI.
Hipstamatic. Event photosharing with a nostalgic twist. Remember a couple of years after the iPhone launched this app that turned the iPhone’s so-so photos into nostalgic keepers thanks to its retro filters?
The app was Hipstamatic, and 15 years later the company is at it again with Hipstamatic Party!, a new standalone app that is meant to tie into the nostalgic vibes of the classic disposable film camera, while mixing it with some of the convenience of the digital age.
Hipstamatic’s photo sharing app enables guests at events like weddings to share their event photos with the host’s gallery.
And yes, it does more than the traditional disposable cameras handed out at weddings: it provides the option to like, comment, and share within the private gallery to spur guests to interact and contribute.
DxO. RAW editing. DxO announces PhotoLab 8, featuring a DeepPRIME XD2s noise reduction tool, which according to DxO will provide not just advanced noise reduction and detail extraction features, but also a large live preview magnifier, hue masks, enhanced tone curve tool, and more.
Typeface & Treat & Narrato. Acquisitions. Typeface, a generative AI startup focused on enterprise use cases, has acquired a pair of companies just over a year after raising $165M at a $1 billion valuation.
Treat uses AI to create personalized photo products. For example, if a fruit vendor’s data suggested that younger men prefer seeing food ads that show a person eating the product, Treat may create an ad that depicts someone biting into fruit.
Narrato is an AI-powered content creation and management platform, providing collaboration and workflow tools such as templates for articles, video scripts, blogs, emails, social media content, and art.
Best,
Hans Hartman
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