Rumors suggest Adobe is about to acquire Rephrase.ai, a vendor known for its innovative generative AI and video technology.
The move to purchase the Bengaluru-based AI startup could once again bring video to the fore of CX discussion and perhaps challenge CX vendors that differentiate through the channel.
All signs currently point to the acquisition going ahead, with the news appearing to be confirmed by Rephrase’s cofounder Shivam Mangla in his announcement via X, formerly Twitter:
Exciting news! Rephrase.ai is getting acquired by a pioneering creative tech company, ushering us into the new era of Generative AI.
Mangla continued: “As we begin this new chapter in a larger org, the possibilities are endless. Excited to see what our teams will create next in the world of GenAI. The future is creative and bright!”
Rephrase.ai: A Visionary Video Provider
Founded in 2019, Rephrase provides companies with its ‘Rephrase Studio’, which allows users to quickly create videos with customizable digital avatars.
Such customizations include resizing the avatar, changing the background, and adjusting or adding audio.
Rephrase has raised nearly $14 million from investors, which include Red Ventures and Lightspeed India, and it has also gained over 50,000 customers.
What Else Would Rephrase.ai Bring to Adobe?
In an internal memo, Ashley Still, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Adobe Creative Cloud, laid out the key benefits of incorporating Rephrase:
The Rephrase.ai team’s expertise in generative AI video and audio technology and experience-building text-to-video generator tools will extend our generative video capabilities — and enable us to deliver more value to our customers faster – all within our industry-leading creative applications.
The acquisition of Rephrase wouldn’t be a complete surprise. Adobe has quickly embraced generative AI, recently celebrating multiple product releases, such as its ‘Firefly’ AI image generation engine.
Indeed, Firefly has proven a significant step forward for Adobe in the CX industry, which Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO of Adobe, believes will “redefine both creativity as well as the customer experience”.
A further bridge was built between Adobe and CX in June 2023 through new innovations to its Adobe Experience Cloud, which included the release of Adobe Product Analytics and updates to Adobe Mix Modeler, Adobe Experience Manager, Real-Time Customer Data Platform (CDP), and Adobe Journey Optimiser.
At Adobe’s ‘MAX Sneaks’ session in October this year, it also showcased a number of generative AI-powered video smarts, including video editing software Project Scene Change, Project Res Up, and others.
Rephrase would certainly be the cherry on top of Adobe’s relatively new generative AI portfolio – likely taking a place on its audio and video creation platform, Adobe Creative Cloud.
Adobe has form when it comes to sizeable acquisitions. Last year, for example, Adobe acquired Figma, a leading competitor of Adobe XD, for $20 billion.
In 2021, Adobe also bought out ContentCal, a social media and content planning tool, which helped to expand its position in the CX space.