Captions just made the boldest move in AI video yet. The $500 million startup is rebranding to Mirage and pivoting from creator tools to foundational AI research, signaling that the real battle for video AI supremacy is just beginning. With deepfake concerns mounting and competitors scrambling, this strategic shift could reshape how we consume short-form content across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
Mirage just threw down the gauntlet in AI video. The company formerly known as Captions announced its rebrand Thursday, but this isn't just a name change — it's a complete strategic pivot that signals the AI video wars are about to get serious. CEO Gaurav Misra told TechCrunch that "the real race for AI video hasn't begun," and his company's new direction suggests he's planning to lead it.
The timing couldn't be more telling. While competitors like D-ID, Synthesia, and Hour One focus on traditional enterprise solutions, Mirage is betting everything on short-form video — the format that's eating the internet. The company's $100 million war chest and $500 million valuation give it serious firepower to build what it calls "multimodal foundational models specifically designed for short-form video content" across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
This pivot comes as the AI video landscape reaches a critical inflection point. Mirage Studio, launched in June, already demonstrates the company's technical ambitions. The platform generates complete video advertisements from nothing more than an audio file — no stock footage, no voice cloning, no lip-syncing required. Instead, proprietary AI creates custom avatars, backgrounds, and natural-looking speech patterns from scratch.
The economics are staggering. At $399 per month for 8,000 credits, Mirage Studio targets brands looking to slash video production costs while maintaining quality. Early adopters report 50% cost savings compared to traditional video production, according to internal company data shared with investors.
But the technology raises uncomfortable questions about the future of creative work. The recent backlash against Guess's AI-generated Vogue advertisement highlights growing industry resistance to synthetic media. Mirage acknowledges these concerns in a recent blog post addressing deepfake technology, implementing moderation systems to prevent impersonation and require consent for likeness use.
