HeyGen, an artificial intelligence startup that helps users quickly create realistic avatars, has raised $60 million in a funding round that values the company at $500 million.
The funding, which is expected to be announced on Thursday, was led by Benchmark, with participation from investors including Conviction, Thrive Capital and Bond Capital. As part of the deal, Benchmark partner Victor Lazarte will join Hegen's board of directors. The funding amount was previously reported by The Information. To date, the startup has raised a total of $74 million.
Founded in 2020, HeyGen is one of a growing number of startups that aim to make video production cheaper and easier using generative AI. HeyGen allows anyone to create a photorealistic avatar that can speak in their own voice and translate their words into different languages.
Rapid advances in AI video generation tools have made these services increasingly powerful, affordable and accessible to the public, raising concerns about the emergence of new, convincing deepfakes. But there is also strong demand from businesses looking to experiment with the technology. HeyGen is used by nonprofits and corporate clients to create internal training videos, advertising campaigns and visual chatbots that people can engage with in real time.
In June, McDonald's tapped Heijen to promote its Grandma McFlurry dessert. Customers were asked to record a video message for their grandmother, which would then be translated into the grandmother's native language, complete with the grandchild's voice. In the process, the website encouraged users to buy a McFlurry: “Grandma would love for you to buy her a McFlurry.”
“People love video, but some people don't like being in front of a camera or don't have the time to be in front of a camera,” Heygen co-founder and CEO Joshua Hsu told Bloomberg News. “We thought if we could take away the camera, it would remove the barrier to visual storytelling.”
