Synthesia, which uses AI to create business avatars for use in content such as training, presentation and customer service videos, has announced a major platform update. “Coming soon” with Synthesia 2.0 are full-body avatars that include hands capable of a wide range of motions. Users can animate motion using skeletal sequences on which the persona selected from the catalog can then be automatically mapped. Starting next month, the Nvidia-backed UK company will offer the ability to incorporate brand identity — including typography, colors and logos — into templated videos. A new translation tool automatically applies updates to all languages.

Synthesia says the new features “will make it more of an all-encompassing video production suite for large firms, rather than just a platform that offers AI-generated avatars,” CNBC summarizes.

Users will be able “to create Apple-style key presentations with AI avatars by using just a laptop webcam or your phone.” Instead of having to go into a studio, Synthesia 2.0 makes it possible to generate a personal avatar by recording about 5 minutes of video using your mobile device, explains CNBC.

“Synthesia is also enhancing how users create their personal AI avatars by allowing them to use their webcams or mobile cameras with natural backgrounds,” writes VentureBeat, which notes the feature will be handy for making tutorials look and sound more authentic.

The personal avatars are also getting better lip sync to recorded sound, more natural speaking voices, and the ability to translate a user’s personal voice into 30 languages.

Synthesia is building a new video player that will make it possible to share “personalized and real-time, interactive experiences” with viewers, the company explains in an announcement for the release of Synthesia 2.0.

Starting next month the player will automatically translate to the end-user’s default language. And later this year capabilities including clickable hotspots, embedded forms, quizzes, and personalized call-to-actions will be integrated into the player.

Founded in 2017, Synthesia was updated in May to provide more expressive avatars. The company now “says it’s used by nearly half of the Fortune 500,” according to CNBC. Nvidia participated in Synthesia’s Series C funding round in June 2023, when the company was valued at $1 billion.

In an interview with CNBC, Synthesia co-founder and CEO Victor Riparbelli delves into the company’s early days, when it was targeting Hollywood content creators for its technology, later changing its focus to corporate video. With the 2.0 upgrade, Riparbelli now aspires to make the company “more akin to giants like Microsoft, Salesforce and Zoom in the enterprise category.”