ByteDance has just announced Jimeng AI, a video generation software that turns text prompts into video, vaulting into the fast-growing text-to-video market. The move puts ByteDance among the growing list of Chinese tech firms who are testing the promising technology area, also pursued by OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.
ByteDance enters the text-to-video market with
After OpenAI’s release last February of its text-to-video model, Sora, Chinese companies were quick to work on similar tools as that remains unavailable for public use. ByteDance’s Jimeng AI went live on the Apple App Store for users in China last week after its appearance on Android on 31 July. It was developed by the subsidiary of ByteDance called Faceu Technology.
Diversification and competition in the market
The release of Jimeng AI comes after a spate of similar innovations in China, as top Chinese video app Kuaishou unveiled its Kling AI text-to-video model to the global market last week—the beta version is available globally and only requires an email address to sign up. Additionally, last month, Zhipu AI introduced its Ying video-generating model, while Shengshu recently launched its Vidu app.
Subscription plans and features
Jimeng AI belongs to ByteDance’s Jianying business, also the operator of the popular video editing app CapCut. The new tool comes with flexible subscription plans for 69 yuan (approx. $9.61) per month, 79 yuan (approx. $11) for a single month, or an annual price of 659 yuan (approx. $91.74) for the number of images approximated to be 2,050 or 168 AI-generated videos that users can create each month.
Eventually, as competition in the space of text-to-video increases, Jimeng AI reflects access to accelerated development in AI technology and increased choices at one’s fingertips in generating creative content.