Hot AI startup Pika is raising new funding to power its text-to-video generator, Business Insider has learned.
The startup is close to a new funding round that could value Pika at more than $500 million, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The funding could value Pika at as much as $700 million, according to one of the sources, who said the company is raising about $70 million in the round.
Details have yet to be finalized and figures involved are subject to change. Pica did not respond to a request for comment.
Pika is capitalizing on growing investor interest in generative AI startups that use the technology for everything from media production to medical billing. The company's proprietary generative AI platform allows users to create and edit videos by inputting a few words, images or short video clips.
Investors have been rushing to back AI startups in the text-to-video space, with Pika competing with other AI media generation startups such as Runway, which has raised more than $250 million from investors including Alphabet and Nvidia, as well as big tech and AI giants such as Google and OpenAI, which are working on AI video services.
Pika emerged from stealth in May 2023 and raised $55 million in funding last year, including a $35 million Series A in November led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Founded by two doctoral students from Stanford University's AI Lab, Pika's investors include Quora founder Adam D'Angelo, former Github CEO Nat Friedman, Color co-founder Elad Gil and Giphy co-founder Alex Chan.
Pika was named one of Business Insider's “Startups to Bet Your Career on in 2024.”
