Latest news with #KindredVentures
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
PlayAI Purchase by Meta, Signaling M&A Not Slowing
Kindred Ventures Managing Partner and founder Steve Jang discusses Meta's purchase of his portfolio company PlayAI and what he sees as the outlook for M&A in AI. Jang joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech." (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta in talks to acquire voice cloning startup Play AI
Alongside bolstering its AI research talent pool, Meta seems to be keen to flesh out its consumer-facing AI features. The company is in discussions to acquire a voice cloning startup called Play AI, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. The tech giant aims to buy the startup's tech and bring on board some of its staff, the report said. Play AI lets anyone clone different kinds of voices that they can use for AI-powered use cases, such as customer service, per its website. The startup has raised $23.5 million in total, and its investors include 500 Startups, Kindred Ventures, Race Capital, 500 Global and Soma Capital, per Crunchbase. Meta currently lets creators on its social platforms build their own chatbots, and has added video editing capabilities to its Meta AI chatbot. Acquiring a voice startup would let the company bake in audio features into its creative suite. Meta and Play AI did not immediately return requests for comment. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
TechCrunch
27-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Meta in talks to acquire voice cloning startup Play AI
In Brief Alongside bolstering its AI research talent pool, Meta seems to be keen to flesh out its consumer-facing AI features. The company is in discussions to acquire a voice cloning startup called Play AI, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. The tech giant aims to buy the startup's tech and bring on board some of its staff, the report said. Play AI lets anyone clone different kinds of voices that they can use for AI-powered use cases, such as customer service, per its website. The startup has raised $23.5 million in total, and its investors include 500 Startups, Kindred Ventures, Race Capital, 500 Global and Soma Capital, per Crunchbase. Meta currently lets creators on its social platforms build their own chatbots, and has added video editing capabilities to its Meta AI chatbot. Acquiring a voice startup would let the company bake in audio features into its creative suite. Meta and Play AI did not immediately return requests for comment.
Business Wire
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Aethero Secures $8.4M to Build the Next Generation of Space-Based Computing and Autonomous Spacecraft
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aethero, a defense-focused startup building space-grade computers and autonomous satellite platforms, announced $8.4M in seed funding today. The company's seed round is led by Kindred Ventures with participation from Neo, Giant Step, O'Shaughnessy Ventures, and Alumni Ventures. 'We're delivering a full suite of autonomous systems that will power the next generation of space operations – faster, smarter, and ready to scale,' said Edward Ge, CEO and co-founder of Aethero. Aethero's computing technology is unlocking a new era of on-orbit autonomy and connectivity, empowering the US and its partners to operate more effectively in space environments and respond decisively to emerging space-borne threats. 'We're delivering a full suite of autonomous systems that will power the next generation of space operations – faster, smarter, and ready to scale,' said Edward Ge, CEO and co-founder of Aethero. 'As global competition intensifies, US leadership depends on our ability to move with strategic urgency and commercial ambition in space. We're enabling our mission-critical customers to operate at the edge and positioning American operators to lead in the most important domain of this century.' Aethero's space-grade computers and platforms use AI/ML technologies that enable satellites to learn and respond to situations in real time, supporting everything from coordinated swarm maneuvers between multiple on-orbit platforms to missile warning and tracking. This gives a major advantage when compared to traditional systems that rely on outdated processors and require significant human input, with limited software capabilities. Integrating more processing power and custom programs allows Aethero's systems to compress and process data instantaneously for significantly better AI/ML capabilities than current space computers – a critical advantage for time-sensitive defense applications and intelligence gathering. 'Aethero is redefining satellite technology by integrating advanced AI/ML software and computing to deliver unmatched performance in space,' shared Amit Pinnamaneni, CTO and co-founder of Aethero. 'Our systems fundamentally change how data is processed and decisions are made in orbit to offer more efficiency and autonomous capabilities than traditional satellite systems. Our innovative approach positions us to lead in the space sector, driving defense and commercial advancements for years to come.' New capital will fuel the additional development of next-generation space-grade hardware and software alongside two further demonstration satellite missions, enabling seamless space operations for Aethero's growing customer base across the public and private sectors. About Aethero Based in San Francisco, Aethero is building the next generation of space-grade computers and autonomous satellite platforms. Through its advanced computing capabilities, Aethero enables the US and its partners to streamline missions, cut reliance on ground control, and meet growing demands for performance and security in space. Aethero uses custom software architecture leveraging AI/ML for each customer, allowing for satellites to process data in orbit and autonomously respond to threats. With a mission to transform humanity's relationship with space through autonomous AI and advanced computing, Aethero is solidifying the US's position as a leader in national security and defense operations.
Business Wire
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Creatify Crosses $9M ARR, Raises $15.5M Series A to Launch the First End-to-End AI Ad Agent for Video
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Creatify, the AI platform powering high-performance video advertising, today announced $15.5 million in Series A funding co-led by WndrCo and Kindred Ventures. The round brings Creatify's total funding to $23 million, with early investors including NFDG, Millennium New Horizons, Creator Ventures, and Leadout Capital. Trusted by over a million marketers and 10,000+ teams — including Comcast, Binance, NewsBreak, Tec-do, and Zumper — Creatify uses generative AI models and integrated workflow tools to automate the entire video ad lifecycle, from creative inspiration and generation to testing and optimization. The company recently surpassed $9 million in annual recurring revenue within 18 months of launch. 'Video is the most valuable format in digital advertising, but it's still the hardest to produce at scale,' said Creatify co-founder and CEO Yinan Na. 'We built Creatify to remove these barriers. Just as Shopify revolutionized e-commerce, we're doing the same for video ads—making them fast, effective, and accessible to businesses of all sizes.' The funding coincides with the launch of AdMax, the first end-to-end AI ad agent to combine creative inspiration, production, testing, and performance analytics in one workflow. AdMax introduces: Ad monitoring that turns top competitor and category ads into actionable campaigns AI-powered video generation that creates dozens of UGC-style and product showcase videos in minutes 700+ AI-generated avatars enabling multilingual, cross-platform execution without traditional production costs Creative testing engine built for Meta and TikTok, optimized for ROAS and CPA API access and team workspaces that streamline video production at scale while maintaining brand consistency 'Great technology turns storytelling into real business results,' said Jeffrey Katzenberg, Founding Partner at WndrCo, who will join Creatify's board of directors. 'Creatify represents the next leap forward. It's not just making video ads easier to produce, it's redefining how modern advertising works. In a world where brands must show up everywhere, all the time, Creatify is purpose-built to meet that demand at scale.' According to Steve Jang, Founding Partner at Kindred Ventures and early investor in Uber, Coinbase, and Perplexity: 'Generative media and LLMs are making a profound impact in how people and brands market and advertise their ideas and products. Creatify's AI agent collapses the slow, expensive, and constrained process of making and deploying video ads into a modern, super fast, and high-fidelity experience. We're thrilled to back Creatify on this mission to reinvent the global advertising market using generative AI.' Enterprise brands are already seeing meaningful results. Zumper now produces over 300 videos monthly with Creatify, saving $20,000 per month. NewsBreak advertisers are launching tailored creatives in minutes — not days — with better performance across audience segments. 'If we want TV advertising to evolve and grow the way advertising has in social media, we need to make the process much easier,' said James Borow, Vice President of Product and Engineering, Universal Ads, Comcast. 'It's innovative companies like Creatify who are identifying the biggest obstacles such as ad creation and then building the solutions that invite brands of all sizes to take advantage of the incredible benefits of TV advertising.' 'We want to make advertising on NewsBreak as fast, easy, and effective as possible,' said Ryan Ludlow, General Manager at NewsBreak. 'Creatify's Ad Creation tool removes creative roadblocks, giving advertisers a simple way to create high-quality video creatives in a matter of minutes--rather than days or weeks of working with a creative agency. Our most successful advertisers launch multiple creatives tailored to different audiences, monitor performance data, and quickly adjust their strategy. With Creatify, more advertisers now have the tools to do exactly that -- efficiently and at scale.' Founded by former Meta and Snap technologists and contributors to FAIR (Meta's Fundamental AI Research lab), Creatify merges cutting-edge research with deep product expertise. The team plans to use the funding to expand R&D and customer success and roll out new features like AI-driven market insights and cross-platform publishing. Creatify is the leading AI video ad platform, used by over 1 million people across 10,000+ teams globally. Its software automates the entire video ad lifecycle, helping marketers create, test, and optimize top-performing video ads in minutes. Creatify is backed by WndrCo, Kindred Ventures, NFDG, Creator Ventures, Millennium New Horizons, and Leadout Capital. Learn more at
