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Melissa Goh · · 6 min readLatest AI app swaps influencers for avatars – and brands want in
Topview, an AI video editing tool valued at US$30.7 million, wants to do for videos what Canva has done for graphic design.
Launched in 2024, the Singapore-based firm is one of a few up-and-coming platforms focused on AI-generated videos. Across Asia, some 15 companies have secured over US$10 million in funding each since 2016.
Made by Arsal Ysfin/Tech in Asia with the help of AI
Co-founded by Jensen Wu and Albert Chen, both former Alibaba executives, Topview offers an AI editor that lets brands create anything from user-generated content and video ads – complete with scripts – to AI livestreaming hosts in just under five minutes.
Videos created by the platform feature AI avatars that can wear, hold, and interact with products. For example, they may appear to adjust an earpiece, put on a pair of socks, or hold up a bottle – all generated from a single product image, product URL, or a reference video.
This feature sets Topview apart from other AI video tools like HeyGen, a US$440 million Los Angeles-based firm specializing in AI avatars and voice that aren’t tailored for product marketing.
The idea of brands using AI to create “user-generated” content may sound disingenuous. After all, rapport with random people on the internet is the whole reason why influencer marketing works.
Still, Topview’s tool helps brands save the time and money they need to hire influencers for an arguably comparable end-product. It also lets them iterate quickly – a benefit enough to bring thousands of creators and brands on board.
The company’s main product is a video AI agent that integrates Sora 2 via API and Avatar 4, a self-developed image-to-video AI model fine-tuned based on Alibaba’s Qwen Wan 2.2 and optimized for facial expressions, hand gestures, body language, and lip-syncing.
Topview’s AI agents can study a reference video, mimic its style, and recreate a similar version based on a brand’s product. First, it asks questions about the user’s target customer segment and market, as well as the product’s unique selling points they’d like to highlight.
How Topview’s AI agent works / Photo credit: Tech in Asia
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Singapore-based Topview’s video AI agents lets brands create product marketing videos for just US$3, and in under five minutes.
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