PixVerse raises $439 million as AI video valuation tops $2 billion

PixVerse has raised $439 million in a Series C extension, pushing its valuation above $2 billion, the Singapore-based AI video startup told TechCrunch. For everyday investors, the deal is another sign that private capital is still chasing generative AI companies that can turn text or images into video, even as competition piles up.

A private-market valuation is the price investors assign to a company during a funding round. It does not mean public investors can buy PixVerse shares today, but it can shape expectations around the broader AI market, including listed companies supplying cloud infrastructure, chips and distribution.

PixVerse said it plans to use the new money to expand its world model products and reach more customers across regions. A world model is an AI system built to understand and simulate environments, which can be useful for games, virtual spaces and other interactive media.

Who backed the round

PixVerse closed the first part of its Series C in March, with CDH Investments leading that round. The company did not disclose the size of that earlier close, though Bloomberg reported it was about $300 million.

Investors in the extension include Alibaba, Lollapalooza Capital, Ivy Capital, Grand Mount Capital, Eastern Bell Capital, Mirae Asset, BlueFocus and CloudAlpha, according to PixVerse. Returning backers iGlobe Partners and OCBC’s LionX Ventures also participated.

The Alibaba name is notable because PixVerse already has a deal with the Chinese technology company to deploy its video generation features, according to TechCrunch. That gives PixVerse both capital and a distribution partner as it tries to sell more AI tools to businesses.

What PixVerse sells

The company was founded in 2023 by Wang Changhu and Jaden Xie. Wang previously worked on computer vision at ByteDance, while Xie was an executive director at Lighthouse Capital, according to TechCrunch.

PixVerse offers several model lines. Its V-Series is aimed at consumers and developers using an application programming interface, or API, which lets software systems connect to PixVerse’s tools. Its C-Series is designed for professional film and commercial work. Its R-Series is focused on world models for game development and world building, and PixVerse released a version of that product earlier this year.

The company says users can create videos at up to 4K resolution with audio included. PixVerse also says its consumer product has more than 150 million registered users and more than 15 million monthly active users. The company declined to tell TechCrunch how many users are paying customers.

TechCrunch reported PixVerse’s image-to-video generation price at $4.80 per minute, citing Artificial Analysis pricing data. Image-to-video generation means a user supplies an image and the software creates a moving clip from it.

The pitch and the competition

Xie told TechCrunch that he sees opportunity in both consumer and enterprise use. Consumers are using AI video for entertainment and short-form content, while companies are using it for creative work, education and marketing, he said.

Xie also argued that PixVerse’s edge comes from how it labels data, rather than from data access alone. He pointed to Wang’s ByteDance experience building visual understanding technology behind TikTok, saying that work helped with accurate labeling and recommendation systems.

PixVerse plans to release a new V-Series video generation model and a new version of its world model this year, according to TechCrunch. The company has 150 employees across Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai, and plans to hire more researchers and go-to-market staff with the new funding.

The field is crowded. TechCrunch identified rivals including ByteDance’s Seedance, Video Rebirth from former Tencent AI head Wei Liu, Kling AI, Midjourney, Runway and Luma. Startups tied to Yann LeCun and Fei-Fei Li are also working on world models, according to TechCrunch.

This story draws on original reporting from TechCrunch.