Hedra, a rising startup in the AI video generation space, has secured $32 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz’s Infrastructure fund, as AI-generated character videos — including viral clips of talking babies and animals hosting podcasts — begin to take off on social platforms.
The trend, which has exploded across TikTok and Instagram Reels, features long-form videos where AI-generated characters deliver fully animated, expressive monologues. In many cases, they feature babies debating adult topics or AI pets reflecting on family life. A number of creators fueling this trend are using Hedra’s web-based video suite, which offers tools to generate, edit, and stylize videos powered by its proprietary Character-3 model.
Character-Driven AI Storytelling, Not Just Clips
Launched in 2023, Hedra was created to fill a gap in the AI video ecosystem — bridging the functionality of tools like Synthesia (for avatars) and Runway (for creative video editing). CEO Michael Lingelbach envisioned a platform at the intersection of 3D character generation, expressive motion, and long-form dialogue control.
That idea is now paying off. The company’s Character-3 model, released in March 2025, is at the center of its creative toolkit and has helped drive a wave of user adoption. “What if we could go beyond presentations and short clips and build something expressive, interactive, and controllable?” said Lingelbach in an interview
Hedra first launched its video model in June 2024, quickly drawing attention from major investors. The company previously raised $10 million in seed funding from Index Ventures, Abstract Ventures, and a16z Speedrun, and also landed investment from the Amazon Alexa Fund earlier this year.
With fresh capital in hand, Hedra plans to train a new AI model with improved customizability and build technology that enables two-way interaction with its animated characters. The company is doubling down on attracting creators, prosumers, and enterprise marketing teams, all of whom are exploring new ways to tell stories using AI-generated personas.
While Hedra AI video generation tools focus on expressive character movement and realistic animation, users can combine its platform with other leading models:
- Video: Veo 2, Kling
- Images: Flux, Imagen3, Sana, Ideogram V2
- Audio: ElevenLabs, Cartesia (for voice cloning or generation)
The flexibility makes Hedra appealing to both indie creators and professional studios seeking to produce engaging, story-driven content.
Competition, Differentiation, and the Future of AI Characters
Hedra faces competition from a range of startups in the AI video and character space, including:
- Captions (also backed by a16z), optimized for mobile creators
- Cheehoo, which partners with Hollywood studios
- HeyGen and Synthesia, which specialize in avatar-based video production
But Hedra claims its Character-3-powered clips offer superior expressiveness and emotional depth — a key reason why they’re driving the current viral wave of talking-baby podcasts and surreal, character-led shorts.
“AI tools today can produce decent clips, but they struggle with meaningful storytelling,” said a16z general partner Matt Bornstein, who is joining Hedra’s board. “What Hedra is building puts characters, voice, and emotion at the heart of AI video generation — and that’s what creators need to connect with real audiences.”
As Hedra scales, it’s becoming clear that character-centric storytelling may define the next generation of AI video tools. Not just clips — but dialogue, identity, and digital personality.
