Gaming
Showtime: World’s first personalized human video platform Gan.ai raises $5.25M helping brands drop tailored video campaigns
Brands have been able to personalize text, images and audio in their marketing campaigns for years and with the onset of AI resources, this has helped them scale their work. Today, Generative AI video platform Gan.ai is announcing a $5.25M seed funding round as they breach the final frontier of personalizing video for mass marketing campaigns. The funding round was led by Surge, Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia’s rapid scale-up program with participation from Emergent Ventures and other angel investors.
With Gan.ai’s studio-quality video personalization software, brands simply need to record a video once, add dynamic keywords to a script, and Gan.ai will generate millions of hyper-customized videos in one click. Businesses can also create personalized landing pages with Gan.ai and deliver videos via preferred communications platforms, enabling specific interactions with users and tailored call-to-actions.
The platform integrates with Shopify, Calendly, Stripe, Salesforce and Hubspot for businesses to create unique shopping and payment experiences also. Moreover, Gan.ai’s end-to-end solution also provides businesses with granular customer insights and video performance analytics.
Gan.ai was founded in March 2021 by Suvrat Bhooshan and is headquartered in California, US. Suvrat previously worked at Facebook AI Research (FAIR) having completed his masters degree in computer science from Stanford University. His deep-learning papers have been published and cited over 300 times. Today, they are a team of 35 with a leadership team that includes Anupreet Singh as Chief Revenue Officer and Kushaagra Goyal as Chief Technology Officer.
Anupreet Singh was US and Europe lead at Mettl (acquired by Mercer) and scaled up business from zero. Most recently, he was the GTM leader at Slintel (acquired by 6sense), where he achieved 0-$5M ARR in just two years. Kushaagra Goyal, leads the development of their disruptive generative AI technology. He has five years of experience working at Databricks, Rubrik and Samsung. He has published over ten patents in this field.
Gan.ai is solving a pressing need for businesses as video becomes the go-to means in engaging users. The amount of online video people are watching has almost doubled since 2018, and an overwhelming 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. However, creating videos can often be a time-consuming process which lacks personalization when it comes to targeting a large audience.
Suvrat Bhooshan, Founder and CEO of Gan.ai commented: “We’re empowering marketing teams around the world to generate a higher return on investment for video campaigns. Imagine a food delivery company being able to send a personalized video from a brand ambassador, addressing its customer by name and how they enjoyed items in their last order, or a clinic reminding a patient to book a follow-up appointment. This hyper-personalization leads to much higher conversion rates vs other static forms of communications.
With Gan.ai, businesses will be able to scale their video personalization process while seamlessly integrating it with existing workflows. We’re excited to grow our operations with the new funds, and expand our sales and engineering teams across US and India,” he said.
Gan.ai boasts a global customer base that includes brands such as Samsung, Zomato, vivo and gaming platform Mobile Premier League. In the US, Gan.ai has been used by some of the biggest brands including the largest chain of optometry and ophthalmology clinics, EyeCare Partners.
“We record videos with influencers and celebrities, and now with Gan.ai, when they call out your name and tell you to take a personalized call-to-action the results are astounding. We saw a 5x increase in our Video Completion Rate, 3x increase in open rates, and 2.5x increase in our Click-Through-Rate,” said user Tejnoor Grover at gaming platform Mobile Premier League.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2022, Gan.ai was one of the 200 technologies of the future. They have also been inducted into Stanford University’s prestigious StartX cohort in 2023.
eSports
CS2 Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 SuperComputer: NaVi to bounce back after Blast Fall Final loss
Final: Natus Vincere (36.5%) to beat Team Vitality (28.1%)
Semifinal 1: Natus Vincere (52.6%) to beat MOUZ (16.3%)
Semifinal 2: Team Vitality (47.7%) to beat G2 Esports (18.7%)
Quarterfinal 1: G2 Esports (39.8%) to beat FaZe Clan (32.8%)
Quarterfinal 2: MOUZ (35.9%) to beat Eternal Fire (24.7%)
Group stage:
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Natus Vincere – 48.7% to finish 1st; 17.0% to finish 2nd; 84.1% to make playoffs
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Team Vitality – 40.8% to finish 1st; 17.4% to finish 2nd; 77.7% to make playoffs
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G2 Esports – 19.3% to finish 1st; 20.4% to finish 2nd; 56.7% to make playoffs
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MOUZ – 14.5% to finish 1st; 21.8% to finish 2nd; 53.0% to make playoffs
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FaZe Clan – 13.9% to finish 1st; 21.0% to finish 2nd; 50.2% to make playoffs
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Eternal Flame – 40.7% to finish 1st; 16.2% to finish 2nd; 40.7% to make playoffs
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Liquid – 16.3% to finish 7-8th; 35.7% to make playoffs
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Virtus.pro – 15.4% to finish 7-8th; 29.9% to make playoffs
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Astralis – 28.9% to finish 9-12th; 31.5% to make playoffs
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The MongolZ – 32.7% to finish 9-12th; 25.4% to make playoffs
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Complexity – 34.3% to finish 9-12th; 21.2% to make playoffs
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Heroic – 26.8% to finish 9-12th; 23.5% to make playoffs
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paiN – 36.5% to finish 13-16th; 21.0% to make playoffs
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FURIA – 36.4% to finish 13-16th; 20.9% to make playoffs
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9z – 44.7% to finish 13-16th; 14.6% to make playoffs
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Imperial – 49.1% to finish 13-16th; 13.9% to make playoffs
It has been quite the run for NaVi despite their loss with back to back grand finals in recent weeks but CSDB.gg’s predictive model suggests there will be no let up for the Ukrainian esports organisation.
G2 will also be looking to build more momentum in preparation for Majors season with NiKo on a quest to finally get over the line this year to win his first major title. Hopefully Rio won’t have to see a repeat of his reaction in the semifinals at BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 where he punched a hole in a table after losing out to Team Vitality in a key moment.
However, the hosts of Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 may want to lockdown any nearby furniture and reinforce their desks if G2 are set for disappointment at the semifinals stage as predicted by the CSDB.gg SuperComputer.
A victory in Rio could be even more consequential for how the end of the year shapes up for the leading teams on the circuit. The Valve Global rankings have both teams close at the very top (NaVi at 1988 and G2 at 1953) meaning a win for either team could hand them a key advantage when it comes to who enters the Majors as top seed.
Back-to-back wins in T1 events for G2, should they prosper in Rio, would set the Berlin-based team on an incredible trajectory going into the winter months.
Meanwhile, Brazilian hopes for glory look slight according to the CSDB.gg SuperComputer with FURIA, the team co-owned by Neymar, having only been given a 20.9% chance of even making the playoffs.
They are the leading contenders to make an impact for the home crowd but there are other teams flying the flag for Brazil with paiN and Imperial also set to give it their best to give local fans something to cheer on.
In terms of forecasted matchups of note, G2 and FaZe Clan could offer up a fascinating encounter in the quarterfinals should both teams qualify, with each organisation rated as having a strong chance of making the semis with little to separate them should they meet.
How was the CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer created?
The CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer is a predictive model created using world ranking points, team quality ratings and performance trends. An element of randomness is also included in the model to avoid the best teams and players always winning, to reflect the fact that upsets can happen.
Every tournament is simulated 1,000 times with the results aggregated into a percentage rating of the chances teams or players have to achieve the predicted result.
NASCAR is once again taking the virtual racing world by storm, this time with the launch of “NASCAR Tycoon” on Roblox created by Dubit.
Building on the success of its previous “NASCAR Speed Hub,” this new experience promises to deliver an even more immersive and interactive NASCAR world.
Developed in partnership with the renowned metaverse studio Dubit, “NASCAR Tycoon” allows players to dive deep into the management and racing aspects of NASCAR, offering a unique blend of strategy and high-speed thrills in a distinctly Roblox-native way.
Players will have the opportunity to jump in the driver’s seat of cars styled after NASCAR’s Next Gen Cup Series vehicles, competing against each other and managing teams in thrilling races. Earning fame and fortune as they build their virtual tycoon, players can make passive income while they play. As players progress in “NASCAR Tycoon,” they will unlock exclusive perks such as building their own NASCAR racing teams, expanding their garages, collecting new cars, accessing customizations and attracting sponsors.
The launch comes hot on the heels of recent Fortnite activations and follows the debut of NASCAR in Jailbreak and NASCAR Speed Hub last year – a virtual environment built by Dubit, for players to race around tracks linked to real-world races.
“We’re thrilled to launch ‘NASCAR Tycoon’ on Roblox, developed in partnership with Dubit, marking a key milestone in our ongoing efforts to authentically engage with the Roblox community,” said Nick Rend, VP of Interactive and Emerging Platforms at NASCAR. “This initiative is about more than reaching new audiences; it’s about deepening our connection on a platform where we see tremendous potential. By blending the excitement of NASCAR with the interactive and dynamic environment of Roblox, we’re enhancing traditional fandom in ways that are engaging, fun, and distinctly forward-looking.”
With over 300 million monthly active users, Roblox is ripe with opportunities for sporting organisations like NASCAR and offers a chance to engage with audiences in an immersive and interactive environment.
Andrew Douthwaite, Chief Commercial Officer at Dubit, shares his excitement: “We’re thrilled to bring the next phase of NASCAR to life on Roblox, building on the success of previous activations. NASCAR Tycoon allows Roblox players to experience the excitement of NASCAR racing like never before, blending the strategic elements of team management with the adrenaline-pumping action on the track. It has been a true joy working with such a forward-thinking, iconic sports brand in NASCAR, and we look forward to continuing to push the boundaries together”
Dubit has created Roblox activations, virtual merchandise ranges and experiences for global brands including Unilever, Samsung, Reckitt, Kraft, H&M and adidas.
“NASCAR Tycoon” is now available on Roblox.
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