OpenArt, a startup founded in 2022 by two former Google employees, is behind the surge of surreal, AI-generated videos now trending online.

Often labeled as “brain rot” by users, these short videos feature eccentric characters, like a shark in sneakers or a ballerina with a cappuccino head. The platform currently has around 3 million monthly active users.

The company recently launched a “one-click story” feature in open beta. It enables users to generate one-minute videos from a single sentence, a full script, or even a song.

The content ranges from lighthearted TikTok clips to music and explainer videos for platforms like YouTube.

One-Click Story: Tools and Templates for AI-Generated Videos

The new feature includes three templates: Character Vlog, Music Video, and Explainer. Users upload an image for their character and provide a prompt.

When a song is used, the AI analyzes lyrics and produces visuals aligned with the theme, such as flowers blooming in a garden.

Each clip can be edited within a storyboard mode where users can revise prompts. OpenArt integrates more than 50 AI models, including DALLE-3, GPT, Imagen, Flux Kontext, and Stable Diffusion. This allows users to select tools based on their creative preferences.

The company aims to make AI storytelling more accessible for users interested in content creation across entertainment, music, education, and advertising.

Copyright Risks Surrounding Character Use

OpenArt’s tools can sometimes generate content involving well-known characters like Pikachu or SpongeBob, which raises intellectual property concerns.

During internal tests, the platform’s Character Vlog feature showed potential for IP infringement.

“We try to be cautious around the IP infringement,” said Coco Mao, co-founder and CEO. “When you upload some IP characters, by default, the models we use will reject them, and it’s not able to produce the IP character, but sometimes it slips.”

Mao stated that OpenArt is open to discussions with IP holders to secure character licensing.

If content infringes on copyright, videos can be removed from platforms, and users may face legal action.

Visual Consistency as a Key Differentiator

OpenArt claims its system offers consistent characters across video scenes, unlike other models that produce fragmented clips.

“A problem that a lot of AI couldn’t handle well is to have the character consistent in the same video… If you don’t have the same character, then it’s hard to get immersed in the story,” said Mao.

The company is working on expanding the feature to include two-character conversations. A mobile app is also under development.

Pricing Model and Financial Growth

OpenArt uses a credit-based subscription system with four plans:

• Basic: $14/month for 4,000 credits (4 One-Click stories, 40 videos, 4,000 images, 4 characters)
• Advanced: $30/month for 12,000 credits (12 One-Click stories)
• Infinite: $56/month for 24,000 credits
• Team: $35/month per member

The company has raised $5 million in funding from Basis Set Ventures and DCM Ventures.

It reports positive cash flow and is on track for an annual revenue rate exceeding $20 million.

PHOTO: PEXELS

This article was created with AI assistance.