Adobe, a U.S.-based tech giant, has a rich history in digital media and creativity software and has revolutionized how we interact with digital content, most notably with products like Photoshop and PDFs. As the company looks to the future, it’s increasingly focusing on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its offerings, particularly in the realm of video content and creation.
In a significant move underscoring this AI-driven strategy, Adobe has acquired the Bengaluru-based AI video creation platform, Rephrase.ai, according to Inc42, India’s largest startup media and information platform, and comes at a time when India’s generative AI startup ecosystem is gaining significant traction.
This acquisition marks a couple of firsts for Adobe: it’s the company’s inaugural venture into the Indian startup ecosystem and its first purchase of a generative AI startup. The details of this acquisition were revealed in an internal memo circulated by Adobe, as reported by ET, highlighting that this step is geared towards accelerating the availability of AI-powered video content tools for Adobe’s customers.
“The Rephrase.ai team’s expertise in generative AI video and audio technology and experience-building text-to-video generator tools will extend our generative video capabilities — and enable us to deliver more value to our customers faster — all within our industry-leading creative applications,” Ashley Still, senior vice president and general manager, Creative Cloud, wrote in the internal memo to employees on Tuesday.
A majority of the team members from Rephrase.ai are set to join Adobe in the wake of this acquisition. This transition appears to be a lucrative one for Rephrase.ai’s investors, who are expected to receive a full cash exit. The founders of the startup, Ashray Malhotra, Nisheeth Lahoti, and Shivam Mangla, are reported to be compensated with a combination of cash and Adobe stock.
Since being founded, Rephrase.ai has garnered significant funding, totalling $13.9 million to date. Just last year, the startup raised $10.6 million in a funding round led by Red Ventures, with other notable backers including Lightspeed India, Silver Lake, 8VC, and Techstars. The startup’s core technology revolves around using generative AI to transform text into video, a tool that has found significant application among influencers, video creators, and marketing teams for creating digital avatars and video content.
While Adobe has been advancing in multiple generative AI-based products, especially within its Creative Cloud suite, the acquisition of Rephrase.ai represents a substantial leap forward. Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite already includes editing and workflow management tools such as Premier Pro, After Effects, Audition, Character Animator, and Frame.io. Earlier this year, Adobe launched its own generative AI model, Firefly, aimed at enhancing its suite of apps and services with generative AI tools. Last month, the company also showcased its capabilities in AI-to-video technology.
