Video Is About to Stop Being One-Way (and That Changes Everything) | Victor Riparbelli, Synthesia
Every company is creating content that nobody reads, nobody watches, and nobody remembers, and the CEO of the AI platform that 90% of Fortune 100 companies use to fix that just explained what comes next.
In this episode, Craig Smith sits down with Victor Riparbelli, co-founder and CEO of Synthesia, to discuss the $4 billion company that is now redefining what video communication means for the enterprise.
The conversation opens with the founding insight that still drives the company: AI is going to drive the marginal cost of creating video to zero, which changes not just how content is produced but who can produce it and for whom. Victor describes how Synthesia found its first real market not in Hollywood - which rejected the technology as too low quality - but in corporate trainers and educators who were comparing it not to a film but to a 10-page PDF no one was reading. The most forward-looking section of the conversation covers Synthesia's next product: moving video from a one-way broadcast into a two-way interactive conversation, where an AI avatar can conduct a real-time sales demo, simulate a customer for sales training, draw graphs on screen to explain pricing, and score whether the person on the other side actually understood the content. Victor also makes a sharp prediction about where AI entertainment will actually emerge, not in cinemas or on Netflix, but from film students with laptops posting 17-minute short films on Instagram, the same way synthesizers didn't replace pianos but created entirely new genres of music.
Key Topics Covered:
● How Synthesia found its first real market: corporate trainers creating content nobody was reading, who compared AI video not to Hollywood but to a PDF, and found it vastly superior
● The transition from one-way video broadcast to two-way interactive avatar conversations, and what that means for sales demos, corporate training, and education
● Why Hollywood will be the last industry to adopt AI video, and why the first AI-generated entertainment will come from broke film students on Instagram, not studios
● Why AI content won't replace real video, it will become its own genre, the same way synthesizers didn't replace guitars but created electronic music
● How the CEO uses Claude daily for strategic thinking, playing devil's advocate, and replacing the long memo with a voice note
As AI video tools proliferate, this conversation offers one of the clearest frameworks for understanding where the technology is actually headed, not toward Hollywood, but toward transforming the way every company communicates internally and externally, with interactive AI avatars replacing the static website as the primary interface between a business and its customers.
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Connect with Victor Riparbelli
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/victorriparbelli
How 3 CEOs Use AI to Run $10B in Companies | This Week in AI
This Week in AI, JCal sits down with three CEOs building the infrastructure, intelligence, and interfaces for the next era of AI: Jeremy Fraenkel (CEO, Fundamental), Victor Riparbelli (CEO, Synthesia), and Nick Harris (CEO, Lightmatter). We break down what's actually happening beneath the AI hype: the data modality LLMs completely missed, why copper is the real bottleneck in AI data centers, OpenAI shutting down Sora, the build vs. buy debate for AI tools, and how close we really are to AGI.
AI's Biggest Blind Spot, Tabular Data: LLMs transformed text, images, and code, but 70-80% of enterprise data lives in rows and columns.
Copper Can't Keep Up: Nick explains why AI data centers are hitting a wall. GPUs compute faster than they can communicate. Lightmatter's photonic chips push 1.6 terabits per fiber and can 3x training speed.
Why OpenAI Killed Sora & Anthropic's Focus is Winning: Victor breaks down why even OpenAI had to learn the lesson of focus, and why Claude Code has every founder talking.
Vibe Coding Your Own CRM vs. Buying Salesforce: Jeremy reveals Fundamental built their own internal CRM using vibe coding. The panel debates when building beats buying and when it's a distraction.
The Omnipresent CEO: Jason shares how he's using AI agents for root access to Slack, Gmail, and Notion, resurrecting former employees as AI personas, automating SDR workflows, and summarizing employee inboxes while they're on vacation.
Are We Already at AGI?: Nick says the rate of progress is a double exponential. Jeremy argues AGI is a moving goalpost. Victor warns of "Future Shock" and societal disruption.
🔗 Learn more about Fundamental: https://fundamental.tech🔗 Learn more about Synthesia: https://www.synthesia.io🔗 Learn more about Lightmatter: https://lightmatter.coThis Week In AI is made possible by:PayPal Open - One Platform for all Business: paypalopen.comTimestamps:00:00 Welcome & intro to Jeremy Fraenkel, Victor Riparbelli, and Nick Harris01:47 What is Fundamental? Large tabular models explained07:01 Victor Riparbelli on Synthesia & why OpenAI killed Sora11:09 Claude Code dominance & the Lightspeed founder retreat12:08 Nick Harris on Lightmatter, photonics & the new Moore's Law14:38 Copper vs. fiber: why AI data centers are hitting a wall18:44 Reinventing video: interactive, real-time, personalized21:32 The economics of a custom AI movie23:55 Why Amazon, Google & Meta are building their own chips28:06 Tables have a bandwidth problem too32:27 When will compute be as cheap as storage?36:10 The future of software: every company gets a custom stack38:06 Vibe coding your own CRM vs. buying Salesforce45:57 Jason's quest for root access to Slack50:18 The omnipresent CEO: Doctor Manhattan meets Jesus CEO52:13 Resurrecting former employees as AI personas53:25 Victor's executive changelog for a 650-person company55:07 Whisper Flow & the Plaud Pin1:00:03 AGI: is it already here?1:03:37 Jeremy: we've only solved half the brain1:06:30 70% of Americans fear AI will impact jobs1:08:47 Future Shock & keeping the rope tight*Mentioned in the show:*
Wisper Flow: https://wisperflow.ai
Plaud Pin: https://www.plaud.ai
Athena Executive Assistants: https://www.athenawow.com
WHOOP: https://www.whoop.com
"Future Shock" by Alvin Toffler: https://www.amazon.com/Future-ShockAlvin-Toffler/dp/0394425863
Victor on TWiST, E1776: https://youtu.be/jxET4fq_2eA
Nick on TWiST, E1787: https://youtu.be/FPW2nnEqfMsSubscribe to This Week in AI on Apple: https://thisweekinai.ai/spotifySubscribe to This Week in AI on Spotify: https://thisweekinai.ai/appleThanks for watching!🤖 If you want to stay ahead of the curve on all things AI, make sure to join our community across all platforms:📩 Get the Weekly Newsletter: https://thisweekinai.ai/📺 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinAIPodcast📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinaipodcast
95% Faster Video Production with Synthesia | Victor Riparbelli
What’s product-market fit like when you give people the power to do what they never thought was possible?
On this rerun of Grit from April 2024, Victor Riparbelli, co-founder and CEO of Synthesia, shares how his platform gave billions a new way to create video without cameras, and explores a future where video and audio replace text as the primary way to share knowledge and content.
Guests: Victor Riparbelli, CEO and co-founder of Synthesia and Josh Coyne, Partner at Kleiner Perkins
Connect with Victor Riparbelli
X: https://x.com/vriparbelli
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorriparbelli/
Connect with Josh Coyne
X: https://x.com/josh_coyne
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuacoyne/
Connect with Joubin
X: https://x.com/Joubinmir
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/
Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/
Will AI make us the last generation to read and write? | Victor Riparbelli
Technology is changing our world — and how we communicate — at an astonishing rate. So much so that entrepreneur Victor Riparbelli predicts that artificial intelligence will drive audio and video to replace text as our primary form of communication by the end of this decade. He imagines a world where anyone can create a Hollywood film, receive personalized education or communicate via hyper-realistic avatars — all in the time it takes to read a book.
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SaaStr 782: The Future of AI in B2B SaaS: Insights from Synthesia's CEO and Theory Ventures. Hosted by SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin
SaaStr 782: The Future of AI in B2B SaaS: Insights from Synthesia's CEO and Theory Ventures. Hosted by SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin
As the AI revolution accelerates, it can be hard to keep up with the pace of innovation. SaaStr's AI Day 2025 brought together the top minds in the SaaS, AI and Cloud to dive deep into the intersection of AI and B2B. Featuring insights from Victor Rippabelli, CEO of Synthesia, and Tomas Tunguz of Theory Ventures, Jason Lemkin leads the discussion that covered everything from enterprise AI adoption to the evolution of video technology and the changing landscape of venture funding.
Learn about the latest advancements in AI video models and how they enhance productivity and innovation. The discussion also explores the evolving landscape of venture funding in AI, the impact of cheaper AI models on enterprise costs, the dynamics of seat-based vs. outcome-based software pricing, and the future of AI agents in business workflows. Don't miss this insightful conversation on the current and future state of AI in the enterprise.
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Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code JASON50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing.
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20VC: Why Scaling Laws Will Not Continue | OpenAI vs Anthropic vs X.ai: Who Wins and Why | How Far Will Model Providers Go Into the Application Layer | The End State for Models: Many Specialised or Few Generalised with Victor Riparbelli @ Synthesia
Victor Riparbelli is the CEO and Co-founder of Synthesia, the world's leading AI video communications platform for enterprises. To date, Victor has raised over $250M from Accel, GV, NEA, and more. More than 1,000,000 users and 55,000 businesses, including 60% of the Fortune 100, use it to communicate efficiently and share knowledge at scale using AI avatars.
In Today's Episode with Victor Riperbelli:
1. The Future of Models:
Are we seeing the commoditisation of models?
Will scaling laws continue to prove out?
How far into the application layer will model providers go?
Will we see a world of few large generalist models or many fragmented smaller models?
X.ai, Anthropic, or OpenAI? Which would Victor most want to invest in and why?
2. The Future of Content:
What will the future of content look like? In 5 years time will we have more AI or human made content?
What will be the future of distribution for content? Why is TikTok the future for content distribution?
How does Victor think about the future of identity verification? What is the right approach?
What does everyone think will happen in the future with content that will never happen?
3. Startup Rules That are BS:
Why does Victor believe it is total BS to say you have to be the first to a market?
Why does Victor believe the speed of execution religion is BS?
Why does Victor believe that London and Europe is a great place to start a startup?
Does Victor believe Americans work harder than Europeans? Why does Victor believe Europeans are more loyal to their companies?
#188 CEO & Co-Founder Synthesia, Victor Riparbelli w/ Josh Coyne: Gorilla in the Room
Guests: Victor Riparbelli, CEO and co-founder of Synthesia; and Josh Coyne, partner at Kleiner Perkins
When Victor Riparbelli wants to learn something, he’ll start with a YouTube video or a podcast: “I maybe buy the book on Amazon as like the fifth step,” the Synthesia CEO says. His company is trying to change the text-first (or text-only) way information is conveyed at work, making AI avatar-narrated videos to replace documents like customer profiles and HR manuals. Victor says that as the technology improves over many years, it could replace text entirely. “I think for most people, if they had a choice, they would probably prefer to watch video and listen to audio.”
In this episode, Victor, Josh, and Joubin discuss Seedcamp, Annie Case, Rubik’s Cubes, AI video dubbing, Instagram filters, emotive avatars, Ilya Fushman, Atlassian, Grammarly, the Gutenberg Parenthesis, European startups, email responsiveness, acqui-hires, and being “lonely at the top.”
Chapters:
(01:33) - Loose screws
(02:45) - How Victor and Josh met
(04:35) - AI hype cycles
(06:57) - What Synthesia does
(08:22) - Copycats and competition
(14:34) - Winner take all
(16:38) - Synthesia’s origin story
(21:36) - Category creation
(23:41) - The next era of AI video
(28:51) - The uncanny valley
(30:07) - Watching videos at work
(33:17) - Scaling video and audio content
(37:45) - Emailing with Mark Cuban
(45:15) - Battle scars
(48:47) - Customer obsession
(50:54) - Pressure to succeed
(54:41) - Deep passion
(57:16) - Who Synthesia is hiring
Links:
Connect with VictorTwitter
LinkedIn
Connect with JoshTwitter
LinkedIn
Connect with JoubinTwitter
LinkedIn
Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm
Next Unicorns: Building a $1B AI Avatar Business with Synthesia CEO Victor Riparbelli | E1776
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Today’s show:
Synthesia CEO Victor Riparbelli joins Jason to discuss how his startup uses AI to generate realistic video avatars (10:16) before demoing the product. Then, the two discuss job disruption (31:43), preventing deepfake misuse (45:18), and much more!
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Time stamps:
(0:00) Synthesia CEO Victor Riparbelli joins Jason
(3:47) Achieving unicorn status after Nvidia-backed fundraise
(12:25) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist
(13:54) Determining pricing for the product
(17:19) Victor demos Synthesia and its AI features
(24:38) Coda - Get a $1,000 startup credit at https://coda.io/twist
(31:43) Job Disruption: How AI will impact hiring and business functions
(39:38) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups
(41:06) AI and dual fate technology
(45:18) Preventing DeepFake misuse
(52:40) OpenAI hit with a lawsuit
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Check Out Synthesia: https://www.synthesia.io/
Follow Victor: https://twitter.com/vriparbelli
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Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four
Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply
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Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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