D-ID Acquires Simpleshow to Accelerate Enterprise Avatar Video Market Capture
Berlin – November 1, 2024 – D-ID, a leading AI avatar technology company, has acquired Simpleshow, a Berlin-based video startup, to bolster its position in the rapidly expanding enterprise avatar video market. The acquisition will consolidate offices, resulting in a streamlined presence in Berlin, Tel Aviv, and the United states, while closing locations in London, Luxembourg, Miami, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
Simpleshow initially approached D-ID for a strategic partnership, according to D-ID CEO Gil Perry. “We saw that there was synergy between management teams and products,” Perry said.”We felt that we needed to increase our speed in capturing a large [part of the enterprise avatar video] market. We thought acquiring Simpleshow would give us the necessary boost in that.”
The combined entity will comprise 140 employees. Simpleshow, founded over a decade ago as a video agency, transitioned to a SaaS-based tech platform in 2017 with the launch of a text-to-video tool. In recent years, the company explored partnerships with firms like Sythesia before ultimately agreeing to be acquired by D-ID.
A key asset in the deal is Simpleshow’s extensive enterprise client base, which includes major corporations such as Adobe, Audio, Airbus, Microsoft, Bayer, HP, T-Mobile, McDonald’s, eBay, and Deutsche Bank. D-ID’s Perry anticipates this will significantly improve the company’s financial performance and accelerate its path to profitability.
D-ID plans to leverage the acquisition to develop interactive training videos featuring AI avatars capable of responding to user questions and administering quizzes. The company already offers a suite of AI-powered interactive avatars to its clients.
The acquisition positions D-ID in a competitive landscape alongside companies like Sythesia, Soul Machine, google, and mckinsey, all developing digital avatar solutions for enterprise adoption. D-ID has raised $60 million in funding to date and secured financing to fund the acquisition, though the financial terms were not disclosed.
“To achieve scale and serve more clients internationally, we decided to build a SaaS-based tech platform,” Simpleshow CEO Karsten Boehrs told TechCrunch.