Captions
Captions is an AI-native video creation platform that automates short-form video editing, avatar generation, and multilingual dubbing via a proprietary model, serving individual creators, SMBs, and enterprise brands through a mobile-first freemium app.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersNew City, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Captions does
Captions (operated by parent company Mirage, legal entity NOCAP, Inc.) is an AI-native video creation and editing platform that automates the full short-form video production workflow, from raw footage or text prompts to platform-optimized output for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and LinkedIn. The company builds a proprietary AI model trained from scratch specifically for short-form video dynamics (pacing, framing, attention), rather than wrapping general-purpose video AI, and packages it inside a mobile-first consumer app and a web application. Core product modules include one-tap AI Edit (auto cuts, B-roll, captions, music, transitions), AI Avatar and AI Twin generation from selfies with 30+ language lip-sync, prompt-to-video and script-to-video generation, a chat-based prompt-driven editor, and a 20+ style preset library. The company serves a horizontal mix of individual creators, SMBs, and enterprise brands/marketers, with named use cases spanning ecommerce product demos, real estate listings, education, healthcare, and podcast repurposing.
The business model is freemium PLG with tiered subscriptions: a free tier with limited AI credits drives top-of-funnel acquisition (3.2M+ downloads, 20M+ users, 100K+ daily active users, 200M+ videos created), with paid tiers unlocking advanced avatars, higher export limits, and enterprise features; a $399/month premium tier existed for the now-merged Mirage Studio enterprise ad product. GTM is primarily self-serve mobile and web with a separate direct enterprise sales motion for brands and agencies. The company monetizes globally, with approximately 75% of in-app revenue coming from outside the US and $28.4M in trailing in-app revenue as of Q1 2026. Captions has raised over $175M in total funding from Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, a16z, Adobe Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, Jared Leto, and most recently General Catalyst, reaching a $500M valuation at its July 2024 Series C. The company is headquartered in New York City, is led by founder/CEO Gaurav Misra (former Microsoft engineer), and operates a 60+ person team with a $100M commitment to in-house generative video research.
Captions firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Captions
- Legal name
- NOCAP, Inc.
- Website
- https://captions.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Captions is an AI-native video creation platform that automates short-form video editing, avatar generation, and multilingual dubbing via a proprietary model, serving individual creators, SMBs, and enterprise brands through a mobile-first freemium app.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Captions industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Video Creation and Editing Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Postproduction Services and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries (51219), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Content-Aware/AI Media Processing (Per-Title Encode, Scene Detection) (MPAHAHAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ), End-to-End Enterprise AI Platforms (MLOps & Model Lifecycle Management) (HDAEANAA)
Keywords
Where Captions is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Captions business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Freemium SaaS Subscription: Captions is free to download and use with basic features. Paid subscription plans unlock premium capabilities including unlimited AI credits, advanced avatar options, higher export limits, and professional-quality output. Revenue is generated through recurring subscription billing with monthly and annual plans.
- Subscription / Recurring Revenue: The company generates recurring revenue through tiered subscription plans. Higher-tier plans provide access to enterprise features, team collaboration tools, and custom branding options. The freemium model drives conversions to paid tiers for power users and businesses.
- In-App Revenue: The Captions mobile app generated $28.4 million in in-app revenue over the prior year (reported as of Q1 2026), of which approximately 75% came from outside the US, indicating strong international monetization.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier with basic features and limited AI credits. |
| Subscription | Monthly | Mirage Studio (now merged into Captions) was offered at $399/month. |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Captions product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Captions provides an AI-powered video creation, editing, and avatar platform delivered through a free mobile (iOS/Android) and web app with paid subscription upgrades. Its flagship AI Edit feature automatically transforms raw footage into fully-edited, share-ready short-form videos with captions, B-roll, transitions, and music in a single tap, while generative AI tools create videos from text prompts or scripts using realistic AI avatars and AI Twins. The platform also localizes videos into 30+ languages with AI-driven lip-sync, and exposes editing through a chat-based natural-language interface.
Product overview
Captions (operated by parent company Mirage, formerly known as Captions Inc.) offers an AI-powered video creation and editing platform built around its flagship Captions app. The platform centers on an AI Edit feature that automatically transforms raw footage into fully-edited, share-ready videos, and extends to generative video creation from text prompts or scripts using AI avatars. Key modules include: the Captions app (core product combining editing, generation, translation, and avatar creation); the AI Avatar Generator and AI Clone/AI Twin (for creating realistic digital spokespeople from photos or recordings); the AI Video Translator with lip-sync (for 30+ language localization); a Text-Based/Chat-Based Video Editor (for prompt-driven editing); and an AI Edit Styles Library (20+ aesthetic presets). The platform also includes platform-specific tools for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The company previously operated Mirage Studio as a separate enterprise product but merged it into Captions. All products are accessible via a free-to-download app with paid subscription tiers for professional features.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Mirage Studio: AI-powered tool for brand advertisement creation using AI-created avatars and backgrounds. Merged into Captions platform in March 2026.
- AI Twin
- AI Actors
Products and services
- Captions App AI-powered video creation and editing application (mobile iOS/Android and web) that transforms raw footage into fully-edited, share-ready short-form videos; supports AI avatars, video translation with lip-sync, prompt-driven chat editing, and AI Edit style presets for individual creators, small businesses, and enterprise brands.
- AI Avatar Generator Generates talking video avatars from selfies or creates entirely new AI actors for use in short-form video; supports outfit, background, and product placement customization and reusable avatar creation across multiple videos.
- AI Clone / AI Twin Creates a digital avatar of the user from a selfie or short video recording, including voice cloning, enabling on-demand video generation without camera setup and supporting multiple languages.
- Prompt-to-Video Generator Creates entirely new AI-generated video footage from text prompts without any camera recording, supporting iterative scene reshoots and style adjustments.
- Script-to-Video Generator Converts written scripts into AI-generated talking-head videos with AI avatars, stylized editing, and voiceover, including localization for 30+ languages.
- AI Video Translator Translates spoken dialogue in videos into 30+ languages with automatic AI-generated voiceover and subtitle translation for localization campaigns.
- AI Lip Sync Synchronizes a speaker's mouth movements and facial expressions with translated voiceover audio across 30+ languages to make dubbed videos appear as if originally recorded in the target language.
- Mirage Studio AI-powered tool for generating brand advertisement videos using AI-created avatars and backgrounds; previously offered as a standalone enterprise subscription ($399/month) and now consolidated into the Captions platform for both SMB and enterprise brand advertising use.
Quantifiable outcome
- 3.2M+ app downloads
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Captions
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Captions technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability11 records
Feature9 records
Captions partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Captions competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Canva: Mass-market design and video creation platform with rapidly expanding AI video features (Magic Studio). Overlaps with Captions in SMB and marketer video creation at a much larger distribution scale.
- Adobe: Adobe Premiere Pro, Express, and Firefly form a broad creative platform that increasingly competes with Captions on AI-powered video editing. Adobe Ventures is also a Captions investor, signaling ecosystem positioning.
Direct peers
- HeyGen: AI avatar and video generation platform focused on enterprise localization and spokesperson videos. Closely competes with Captions' AI Twin and AI Actor capabilities, particularly for enterprise use cases.
- Runway: AI-native video generation and editing platform used by creators and studios. Direct competitor in generative video and AI-powered editing, with a more creator/professional user base.
- CapCut: ByteDance-owned mobile video editor with deep TikTok integration and rapidly expanding AI editing features. Most direct competitor to Captions' mobile-first, AI-powered short-form video editing experience.
- Descript: AI-powered video and audio editing platform with text-based editing and automatic filler-word removal. Overlaps with Captions on AI editing, captions, and creator/podcaster workflows.
- Synthesia: Enterprise AI avatar video platform for corporate communications, training, and localization. Direct competitor in AI-generated talking-head video with a stronger enterprise sales motion.
- InVideo: AI video creation platform that turns text prompts into videos. Competes with Captions in the script-to-video and prompt-to-video generation category for marketers and SMBs.
Emerging players
- Pika: AI video generation startup focused on text-to-video and image-to-video creation. Emerging competitor in the generative video space with strong research credentials but narrower editing product.
- Luma AI: AI video generation company building generative video models (Dream Machine). Adjacent competitor in generative video technology and a potential partner in underlying model infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Captions social profiles
Digital presenceCaptions financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Captions leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Captions funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Captions M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Captions
What does Captions do?
Captions provides an AI-powered video creation, editing, and avatar platform delivered through a free mobile (iOS/Android) and web app with paid subscription upgrades. Its flagship AI Edit feature automatically transforms raw footage into fully-edited, share-ready short-form videos with captions, B-roll, transitions, and music in a single tap, while generative AI tools create videos from text prompts or scripts using realistic AI avatars and AI Twins. The platform also localizes videos into 30+ languages with AI-driven lip-sync, and exposes editing through a chat-based natural-language interface.
Is Captions a public or private company?
Captions is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Captions founded?
Captions was founded in 2021.
Where is Captions based?
Captions is headquartered in New City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Captions make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Freemium SaaS Subscription is the primary driver. The others are subscription / Recurring Revenue and in-App Revenue.
Who are Captions's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Canva and Adobe. Direct peers are HeyGen, Runway, CapCut, Descript, Synthesia and InVideo. Emerging players are Pika and Luma AI.
Does Captions have an API?
No public API is recorded for Captions.
What industry is Captions in?
Captions's product category is AI Video Creation and Editing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAHAHAH, Content-Aware/AI Media Processing (Per-Title Encode, Scene Detection), with a secondary code of HDAEANAJ, AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs). Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.