Episode description

In this episode, we dive into how AI is transforming video editing with Gaurav Misra, the CEO of Captions. Launched in New York in 2021, Captions already empowers over 10 million creators worldwide, leveraging AI to make video production as simple as clicking a button.

Discover the strategic framework that led to the inception of Captions, and learn how the founders identified societal changes and technological advancements to build a groundbreaking company. We explore the challenges and opportunities of building an AI product for video editing, including how Captions is outpacing traditional content production workflows.

Gaurav shares insights into the future of video editing, the role of AI in democratizing video production, and the unique approach Captions takes to differentiate itself from industry giants like Adobe and Capcut.

Captions

Website - https://www.captions.ai

X/Twitter - https://x.com/getcaptionsapp

Gaurav Misra

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gamisra1

X/Twitter - https://x.com/gmharhar

FIRSTMARK

Website - https://firstmark.com

X/Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCap

Matt Turck (Managing Director)

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/

X/Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck

(00:00) Intro

(01:30) What is Captions?

(03:43) How did Captions start?

(08:25) The strategy behind launching Captions

(12:32) How is Captions different from other editing tools?

(14:13) How does it compare to CapCut?

(18:22) Who is the typical Captions user?

(20:13) Why ‘Captions’?

(23:47) Captions’ product suite for production and editing

(26:37) AI models powering Captions

(36:22) AI lipsync

(38:49) Personalized fine-tuned models for creators?

(39:38) Building models vs. building wrappers

(43:09) Cloud AI vs. Local AI

(45:19) Optimizing for low latency

(48:07) AI/ML stack at Captions

(51:10) “Hallucinations are a feature, not a bug”

(53:19) Prompt engineering

(54:12) Have we passed the uncanny valley for AI avatars?

(01:01:47) The impact of deepfakes

(01:04:33) CapCut ban and its effects

(01:05:05) Evolving from paid to freemium

(01:07:42) Building a company on foundation models

(01:09:01) Running an AI company in New York