In the past year, many AI-based software and applications have gained immense popularity and traction among the masses, penetrating almost every aspect of our lives. Such “disruptive” technologies, which have changed the world order and improved efficiency in traditional industries, are now widespread far beyond the labs and startup offices of companies – and in turn, they are driving a wave of new businesses and companies promising new solutions.
One of the most interesting Israeli startups in the “traditional” field of video advertising – a huge industry that generates hundreds of billions of dollars a year – is Alison (Alison.AI), which develops an AI platform for content and creative analysis and creation. “The technology we developed in the company performs the entire strategic process of creating a brief for an advertisement tailored to the needs of the brand, and produces the full-length advertisement video, based on the brief created,” explains Asaf Yanai, CEO and co-founder of the company. “This is a significant message for advertisers, which actually provides an answer to the biggest problems in the advertising and marketing industry: wasting money and time on unnecessary tests and high production costs,” he describes.
According to Alison, it actually saves advertisers the “guesswork” and “gut feelings.” Using 15 advanced AI engines, the technology developed by the AI startup breaks down video clips into thousands of elements of visual, sound, text, concept, and tone, and performs market research and competitors in the same way. “A 30-second video is segmented into thousands of technical features that are translated into data, to find correlation between the elements and its performance and that of its competitors, until the next advertising video is created, which will yield the best results, without the need for guesswork and tests,” explains Yanai. “Our product advances advertisers and advertising agencies into the age of generative AI, and our mission is to adapt human creativity to the new age – to provide advertisers and content creators with quality, data-driven results in real time, that will streamline their work, maximize profits and streamline their business and marketing processes – to create the winning campaign.”
The unique technology developed by the AI startup, the huge buzz surrounding the AI industry in the past year, combined with the size of the “traditional and outdated” market it focuses on – looks like a promising recipe for big growth and huge business potential. The video advertising market is currently estimated at $270 billion, according to research firm Statista, with 9 million advertisers producing some 540 million video ads each year. According to current forecasts, this market is expected to grow by another 38% by 2027. “We can see the real demand with large clients, advertisers in all sectors of the economy who are adopting our technology in order to save costs and maximize the profits from their campaigns,” says Yanai, the CEO.
The company recently announced the launch of a new AI product that generates full-length advertising videos based on advertiser data and market and competitor research. The new feature of the “Smart Brief” of Alison.AI’s platform allows advertisers to create a detailed brief for an advertising campaign in just a few minutes, based on their goals, target audience, and budget. Powered by AI tools “Smart Brief” uses a unique algorithm to create the next viral video, maximizing impressions, user engagement, and profits – all while using a minimal budget. “The new technology was launched in recent weeks and is already being used by our customers,” says Yanai. “We are in advanced stages of development of another series of complementary products that will be launched during 2024.”
The AI startup, founded in 2021 by Asaf Yanai (CEO) and Koby Berkovich (CTO), closed a $5.1 million pre-seed funding round within a year of its founding. The fundraising was led by Crescendo Venture Partners, Cardumen Capital, and Yellowhead. According to Yanai, the technology developed by the company is already being used by large corporations around the world, including: Google, Meta (Facebook), TikTok, Ferrero, and LG. “Artificial intelligence is also revolutionizing the worlds of advertising and marketing – and Alison is at the forefront of change,” says the startup’s CEO and founder. “Our technology will fundamentally change the entire marketing and video industry. I am confident in this need, it is a huge market segment with hundreds of thousands of potential customers – and that is where we are headed.”
