Chad Hurley is making another move in the online video market. The entrepreneur who co-founded YouTube alongside Steve Chen and Jawed Karim has raised a seed round for EyeTell, a startup that will produce AI-generated video scripts.
The Information first shared the news about the seed round, which was led by A-Star Capital. The venture fund SV Angel also participated. The size of the round was not disclosed.
EyeTell is one of several companies that has raised funding for a generative AI business in 2023. Hurley’s take on trendy technology will be built using preexisting AI models, according to The Information. The startup will derive its scripts from text prompts in order to inspire creators and make the video production process more efficient. EyeTell will also include audio recording tools and AI-generated video content.
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Since selling YouTube to Google in 2006, Hurley has established multiple startups. As his career has progressed, the Pennsylvania native has always kept a close eye on prevailing online video trends. One of his first post-YouTube ventures was MixBit, a Vine competitor he and Chen launched a decade ago. That platform was ultimately more notable for its tabloid headlines than anything else.
Hurley popped up again toward the end of the aughts, when he raised $8.5 million to support a sports game development startup called GreenPark. That company has raised more than $53 million to date, according to data from Crunchbase.
With EyeTell, Hurley is wading into an extremely competitive space. Generative AI is a hot topic in the startup world, and it’s gaining support among big tech companies as well. YouTube recently announced that it will introduce “AI-generated insights” that will help creators overcome writer’s block. That sounds a lot like EyeTell’s flagship product.
But Hurley is not the type to let intense competition scare him away from a business opportunity. In 2005, YouTube managed to distinguish itself from other new video platforms, including Vimeo and Blip. Nearly two decades later, Hurley will attempt to stand out in an AI-obsessed industry. His brother Brent Hurley has incorporated EyeTell in the state of Delaware. According to The Information, the startup will release its first product “next year.”
