ByteDance Launches AI Video Creator To Compete Against OpenAI’s Sora

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, launched a new AI tool called Jimeng AI that can generate videos from text prompts this week. ByteDance joins the competition to create the best text-to-video software against companies like OpenAI with Sora, and Canva.

According to Reuters, Jimeng AI has been developed by another ByteDance company, Faceu Technology, and is already available for Android—released earlier on July 31— and now iOS in China.

In the region, Jimeng AI will be competing against another text-to-video model called Kling AI, released last month by one of China’s largest video apps Kuaishou. This model is already available worldwide and users just need to share an email to register. Another competitor is Ying—also released last month— by the Chinese startup Zhipu AI.

Jimeng AI is not free. Users can pay 69 yuan—around $9.50— for a monthly subscription, 79 yuan—around $11— for just one month, or 659 yuan—around $92— for a year. On its website, the company features realistic animations of jellyfish swimming and funny clips like a Zebra with sunglasses underwater and a rock band of astronauts playing music on the moon.

In the U.S. Sora—released earlier this year— has already been making an impact even in Hollywood for its impressive video results. Toys R’ Us created its first AI commercial using the AI tool, becoming the first brand to do this in June.

According to TechRadar, Jimeng AI—which translates to “dream” in English— the AI-video tool could be a big threat to Sora as the company is linked to the popular TikTok app. Its capabilities and app connections are yet to be seen, but its quick expansion could develop soon if they extend the app to other territories especially considering that Sora is not available to the public yet.

ByteDance is still under the U.S. government’s radar during the legal dispute and bill to ban TikTok in the country. The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also filed a lawsuit last week against Tiktok for violating children’s privacy.