Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has invested in Irreverent Labs Inc., a Seattle startup that develops artificial intelligence models for generating video content.

Irreverent Labs announced the investment this morning. The startup didn’t disclose how much funding it raised from Samsung. According to GeekWire, the electronics giant provided the capital through its Samsung Next startup fund.

Irreverent Labs was co-founded in 2021 by Chief Executive Officer Rahul Sood, who earlier led Microsoft Corp.’s venture capital arm, and Chief Technology Officer David Raskino. The startup raised $45 million to develop a video game with a built-in cryptocurrency. Last year, Irreverent Labs halted the development effort to refocus on the generative AI market.

The startup is building an AI model that will be capable of generating short videos based on user-provided text instructions. According to Irreverent Labs, its model will also offer the option to generate video content based on a photo or clip. The startup plans to make the neural network available through a dedicated website later this year.

According to TechCrunch, Irreverent Labs will initially target its technology at social media content creators. In the longer term, the startup hopes to expand its installed base to include users without video production expertise.

The enterprise market is another priority for Irreverent Labs. The startup plans to launch an application programming interface, or API, that will enable developers to integrate its video generation AI into their companies’ software.

Irreverent Labs investor Samsung could potentially become one of the API’s first major customers. Speaking to GeekWire, Sood said that Samsung’s investment in the startup may lead to a technical collaboration. Such a collaboration, he detailed, might see the electronics giant integrate Irreverent Labs’ AI into its devices to let users generate video content through an app.

The investment from Samsung could also unlock other growth opportunities for the startup. According to TechCrunch, Irreverent Labs hopes to build ties with other startups that have raised funding from Samsung and may be interested in using its AI. Irreverent Labs is also said to be working with several of the electronics giant’s hardware-focused business units on a “distribution strategy.”

“The possibilities that Irreverent Labs’ technology unlocks are vast, and the potential impact on the mobile devices in our pockets and backpacks to the televisions mounted on our living room walls is immense,” stated Samsung Next investor Joan Kim.

Irreverent Labs is one of several companies applying generative AI to video creation. 

Some rivals, such as fellow startup Runway AI Inc., are developing neural networks that can generate entire clips. Runway recently raised $141 million from a group of investors that included Nvidia Corp. and Google LLC.

Other companies are using generative AI to reduce repetitive work for video production teams. Adobe Inc. recently introduced a new version of Premiere Pro, its popular video editing application, that allows users to modify a clip using natural language commands. The built-in AI promises to automate a variety of tasks ranging from relatively simple setting adjustments to background music creation.

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