In the realm of video storytelling, video editing is the art of transforming raw footage into compelling stories that captivate and engage viewers. However, this creative process comes with its own set of challenges, a delicate balance between cutting-edge technology and artistic skill. But as video editing evolves, it has become more complex and challenging requiring a high level of skill and expertise, both technical and creative.
While video content creation technology has improved in recent years, video editing workflows have largely revolved around navigating complex user interfaces, stitching together disparate tools, and dealing with painfully slow download and upload times. It’s against this backdrop that one AI startup is on a mission to transform video editing workflow.
Enter Ozone, an AI-powered, cloud-based video editing platform that enables creators of any skill level and industry to spend more time storytelling and less time struggling with their tools. Since its inception in a dorm room at MIT, the Ozone team has focused on developing the next generation of creative tools to enable content creation teams to collaborate seamlessly on video projects, eliminating the complexities of user interfaces and the need for time-consuming video file uploads and downloads.
Today, Ozone announced it has closed $7.1 million in funding and has publicly launched its cloud-based video editing platform. The round was backed by investors including Y Combinator, NEA, General Catalyst, LGVP, Bluewatch Ventures, Polymath Capital Partners, Pioneer Fund, SOMA Capital, and Olive Tree Capital, as well as the founders of Dropbox, Tinder, and Lightricks.
Ozone will use the funding proceeds to support the next phase of growth, develop its AI capabilities, expand its collaborative features, and enhance the overall user experience.
“Today, creators often find themselves using outdated tools like Adobe’s Premiere Pro, which can be challenging to use, or web-based platforms like Canva, which have limited editing capabilities,” says Max von Wolff, founder and CEO of Ozone. “As a result, creators and their teams spend too much time on tedious editing and not enough time on the creative aspects of content generation.”
“When we saw the initial product demo from Max, we realized it was a technical feat to be able to handle editing of rich video content seamlessly in a web app with multiple editors collaborating at once,” says Jonathan Golden, Partner at NEA. “We think Ozone is well-poised to redefine the creative tooling space with the help of AI and we could not be more excited to partner with the team.”
Founded by Max von Wolff in 2021, Ozone is building the first platform to bring all of this under one roof. By focusing on simplifying video editing workflows, Ozone offers a platform to give creators the means to work more efficiently and creatively.
