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AI video startup co-founded by UCL Professor, valued at $4 billion

30 January 2026

Synthesia, an AI startup co-founded by a UCL scientist, has secured $200 million (£145 million) in new funding, reaching a valuation of $4 billion (£2.9 billion), almost doubling its previous valuation.

An AI generated mage from video of a woman

Founded in 2017 by a team of scientists and entrepreneurs including Professor Lourdes Agapito (UCL Computer Science), Synthesia has developed photorealistic generative AI video technology that enables organisations to produce professional videos with digital avatars. Synthesia’s clients are major global companies, including 70% of the FTSE 100, as well as public sector and international bodies.

Professor Agapito said: “It is an incredibly proud and important moment for the entire team at Synthesia to reach this milestone. This investment will open the next chapter of Synthesia, allowing us to build a category-defining company that will transform AI-powered learning and communication experiences through conversational agents.”

This latest round of funding was led by Alphabet’s Google Ventures with participation from Nvidia’s venture arm and longstanding investors. This has increased the company’s valuation from $2.1 billion to $4 billion in just a year, making it one of the UK’s most valuable private AI companies.

The company has said it will be used to build upon its existing AI video platform and further develop Synthesia’s interactive AI agents to transform how companies communicate, share knowledge and scale expertise.

Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement), said: “This is a tremendous achievement by a company co-founded by a UCL scientist. It shows how cutting-edge research conducted at UCL can have significant, real-world impact, create benefits for society and become a world-leading tech company.”

Along with Professor Agapito, a professor of 3D Vision at UCL Computer Science, Synthesia’s co-founders are its CEO Victor Riparbelli, Professor Matthias Niessner (Technical University of Munich) and COO Steffen Tjerrild.

The milestone emphasises the increasing influence of research-led innovation and the ongoing contribution of UCL Computer Science’s academic expertise in shaping leading AI companies.

The London-based company is headquartered at Regents Place, part of the innovation district at the heart of Euston and King's Cross, that is also home to a range of world-leading UK life science and technology companies such as Autolus and Google DeepMind, with plans to further develop the area.

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Image

  • Image from AI generated video
  • Credit: synthesia.io

Media Contact
Michael Lucibella

E: m.lucibella [at] ucl.ac.uk