Thread

New a16z thesis: AI avatars (market map)

Justine Moore (a16z) · x.com

The clearest map of the avatar landscape and which use cases are actually working.

Open on x.com ↗

The question it answers

  1. How are founders using AI avatars and UGC-style actors instead of hiring creators?

Read with it

  1. HeyGen's CEO explains how avatar video is assembled under the hood and where it breaks. open.spotify.com Podcast Can AI replace the camera? with Joshua Xu from HeyGen No Priors (Sarah Guo & Elad Gil)
  2. Founder plus investor on why 40,000+ businesses pay for avatar video. cognitiverevolution.ai Podcast AI Avatars & the Future of Video, with HeyGen CEO Joshua Xu and Benchmark's Victor Lazarte The Cognitive Revolution
  3. Covers the consent and deepfake guardrails a founder must understand before cloning anyone. open.spotify.com Podcast HeyGen's Josh Xu on trust, safety and interactive avatars Unsupervised Learning (Jacob Effron)
  4. The founder demoing avatar-plus-video-model stacking, the pattern ad teams now copy. x.com Thread Joshua Xu: HeyGen avatars + Sora, next-level talking video Joshua Xu (HeyGen CEO)
  5. The enterprise avatar pioneer on what businesses actually use avatars for. accel.com Podcast Synthesia's Victor Riparbelli on harnessing AI's benefits and reducing harm Accel, Spotlight On
  6. Accessible tour of avatar upside and risk you can share with a non-technical cofounder. open.spotify.com Podcast How AI digital doppelgangers could change how we communicate The TED AI Show
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →