Welcome back to the Leaderboard. ICYMI: we're talking about some of our favorite products of 2024. In today's issue, we've got Runway's mind-blowing animation engine, a tool to turn any document into audio, and Adobe's AI podcast enhancer. Let's dive in.
Runway Act-One: Generate expressive character performances with AI.
Runway Act-One is the AI companyâs latest addition to its generative video suite, enabling expressive character performances across different genres by using both video and audio as inputs. Watching the demo, itâs definitely impressiveâif I were Pixar, Iâd be pretty excited. Still, with how saturated the market is, I donât feel the same sense of wonder as I used to. Maybe Iâm just getting a little desensitized to AI. Anyone else?
Projects by ElevenLabs: Structure, edit and generate long-form audio with precision.
Projects is ElevenLabs new end-to-end workflow that lets you upload very long documents and turn them into audio. Essentially, it gives you everything you need to create high-quality audiobooks on demand in minds â precise control over editing fragments, access to ElevenLabâs extensive voice library (including an AI clone of your own voice, if youâve made one), and rendering across dozens of languages. There are lots of obvious winners here, like self-published authors and indie filmmakers, but Iâll be curious to see what other use cases emerge. Personalized educational podcasts based on textbooks, audio journals, and interactive VR storytelling environments are now all within easy reach.
Adobe Podcast Enhance:Â AI to make spoken audio sound professional
This is such a smart use of AI. Podcasts are an incredible medium, and itâs common to see them evolve over time, improving audio quality as they growâsometimes with the help of professional editors. This tool lowers the barrier to producing higher-quality content, making it easier for creators to put out polished episodes without needing a big budget or fancy equipment. Sure, itâs not going to replace a full professional setup, but it makes good sound more accessibleâand even works for guest audio, which is a huge bonus for shows with remote interviews.
In an era where AI is reshaping how businesses operate, the journey of building an early-stage startup has never been more dynamicâor complex. How do founders navigate finding product-market fit, delegation, and scaling, all while adapting to technological innovations?
Join on January 14 at 3 pm PT for a fireside chat with Christina Cacioppo, CEO and Co-founder of Vanta, and Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and Founder of LTSE, as they explore the journey of the modern startup founder.
Eric and Christina will discuss: