PixVerse, the Singapore-based AI video generator, is establishing its first U.S. office in Bellevue, Wash., and on Monday released the newest version of its model.
Earlier this month the startup announced a $300 million Series C round that raised its valuation to more than $1 billion and into unicorn territory. Unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg said the funds would help “accelerate its global expansion and target enterprise customers across North America and Asia.”
John He will lead the Seattle-area office as U.S. general manager, builder and chief of staff. He is PixVerse’s first and so far only U.S. employee, but is making job offers and hopes to build a team of six within the next couple of months. The Bellevue office will initially focus on product marketing and sales, with plans to expand into AI research and engineering this summer.
He is temporarily working out of an extraSlice co-working space while searching for a permanent office in downtown Bellevue.
The company launched in 2024 and has at least 110 employees across its Singapore and Beijing offices, He said. There are also plans to open a second U.S. office in San Francisco.
Key investors in PixVerse include Alibaba Capital Partners, Ant Group and 37 Interactive Entertainment, according to PitchBook.
He joined the startup from Salesforce, saying he was attracted to the PixVerse’s mission.
“It’s very simple,” he said. “They want to turn everyone’s imagination into reality.”
AI video generation tools have sparked major debates over ethics, misuse and sustainability. That includes concerns and legal challenges over deepfakes, copyright violations and the improper use of intellectual property. There are also significant environmental costs in energy and water usage given the high computational demands of AI video production.
He defended the technology, saying that it doesn’t aim to replace human creativity and that artists using PixVerse are able to increase their earnings.
“It empowers regular people to do a better job,” he said.
PixVerse says it has more than 100 million users across 175 countries. Its latest model adds “precision camera control, expressive character performance, and one-click commercial output,” the company says.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal and others reported that OpenAI was shutting down Sora, its AI video generation platform used by consumers, filmmakers and other professionals. The decision, WSJ said, would allow OpenAI to focus on productivity tools for enterprise and individual users.
OpenAI employees in the past have questioned the computational costs of the Sora technology and unproven demand from customers, WSJ added.
Other competitors in the space include Runway ML, Kling AI, Higgsfield and products from Google and Adobe.
