AI video generation startup Zhixiang Future has received hundreds of millions of RMB in Series A financing, led by state-owned funds mainly from Hefei Industrial Investment, and also participated by institutions such as Anhui Artificial Intelligence Mother Fund and Hubei Changjiang Film Group Co., Ltd. Previously, it had been led by Alpha Startups and iFLYTEK in two rounds.
Zhixiang Future is the world’s first AI company to launch text-to-video generation. Founder Mei Tao believes that compared to large language models, multimodal models have less dependence on computing power and resources, and commercialization may be earlier and faster. In 2024, the video generation track is crowded and the intense competition stems from the shorter commercialization path and faster product implementation speed. Last year, 50 – 60% of the global AIGC revenue came from video and image generation.
For startups, they need to innovate in algorithms and solve the last mile problem in segmented industries. Zhixiang Future has independently developed a large video generation model and has the most comprehensive multimodal copyrighted corpora in China. It is widely used in scenarios such as film and television, culture and tourism, and marketing. It will also release a new multimodal understanding model and a new hybrid expert model. In the future, it hopes to become an AI video search service.
This generation of AI entrepreneurs has to have both lofty ideals and practical actions from day one. Zhixiang Future has taken an early and fast path in commercialization and found its footing after paying some tuition fees. To make C-end products, it is necessary to solve the “double non-hundred” problem and cross two gaps. For enterprise services, key account customers are mainly central and state-owned enterprises and leading internet companies. They produce marketing materials for brand owners and also pay attention to toolization and SaaS services.
Currently, it is difficult for AI startups to raise funds from dollar funds. Zhixiang Future takes a two-pronged approach. When taking state-owned capital financing, it needs to consider whether it is in line with the company’s direction and whether it can build a leading enterprise. Last year’s first round of financing came from the alumni group of the University of Science and Technology of China. Whether to raise funds in dollars or RMB depends on business and customers. Now, there are only a few multimodal startups that can raise funds. The company needs to create business value.
Entrepreneurship has made Mei Tao’s life complete. Everyone who joins a startup needs to be mentally prepared. Mei Tao’s choice to leave Microsoft in 2018, go to JD.com, and then start a business in the video generation track is the result of rational thinking. Zhixiang Future not only makes models but also applications. Being an entrepreneur is more challenging than being a scientist. Entrepreneurs need to become hexagonal warriors. Mei Tao is willing to spend the next ten years in the company, go through business experiences and pass on his experience to young people.
