Photo credit: Pika/Lauren Segal 

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American actor and musician Jared Leto invested in an artificial intelligence (AI) video-generation startup as more celebrities increasingly joined the conversation surrounding the revolutionary technology.

“We’re thrilled and humbled to announce that we’ve raised an $80M Series B, bringing our total funding to $135M,” Palo Alto-based AI startup Pika said in a June 5 statement.

Leto joins Spark Capital, the venture capital firm that led the multi-million dollar funding round, and other entities, including Greycroft and Lightspeed Venture Partners, which led the company’s Series A round last year.

The startup said it will use the funds to expedite building its foundational model and product for video creators. It added that it will also use the capital to continue onboarding talent.

The latest raise brings the company’s total funding to $135 million and doubles the company’s valuation to $470 million.

Pika’s tool lets users generate short videos from text prompts, still images, or other videos. Users can customize the aspect ratio, shorten videos, trim specific sections, and change certain elements.

Co-founders Demi Guo and Chenlin Meng left their graduate studies at Stanford University’s AI doctoral program to focus on Pika. The company reportedly emerged from stealth mode late last year, unveiling its AI video-making software and announcing $55 million in total funding.

Pika is among the growing roster of companies, including Runway and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI’s Sora, that are developing text-to-video generative AI platforms.

Celebrities in AI ventures

Pika’s latest raise signals continued investor confidence in AI, even among celebrities. In recent years, Titanic and The Wolf of Wall Street actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Iron Man Rober Downey Jr. have reportedly invested millions into AI companies designed for environmental impact.

Meanwhile, Black Eyed Peas member William Adams, known professionally as will.i.am, founded tech and fashion brand “i.am+.” The firm aims “to create a community of creatives and coders and believe that through music and technology as the first step, we can usher in a powerful new era built on AI.”