Mirage, the company behind the AI video editing app Captions, just locked in $75 million in growth financing from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund. The startup, which recently rebranded from Captions to Mirage, is shifting gears to position itself as an AI lab building custom models for video editing, marketing, and advertising.
In the last year, Mirage has overhauled its product and business model. The company rolled out a freemium pricing structure in January 2025, aiming to compete with heavyweights like ByteDance’s CapCut and Meta’s Edits. Mirage now offers a web-based marketing suite for bulk video creation, while Captions continues as a mobile-first editing tool. The plan: merge both platforms to better serve small businesses and creators who need to pump out marketing videos at scale.
Why this matters for creators and businesses
Mirage’s pivot comes as the AI video editing market heats up. Rivals like Canva, D-ID, HeyGen, Webflow, and Avataar are all racing to launch new AI video features. But Mirage is betting on its custom models-like one trained for pacing, framing, and attention dynamics in short videos-to stand out.
The company’s latest audio model is designed to preserve user accents in generated videos. CEO Gaurav Misra says this is crucial for Mirage’s international user base: “Accents are just very important. There was my own dad’s example. He was trying to use the app, and he would say a word in an Indian accent, and it would always make it sound like he’s talking in an American accent.” The new model aims to fix that, making the platform friendlier for global creators.
Growth, numbers, and the competitive edge
Data from AppFigures shows Captions racked up over 3.2 million downloads and $28.4 million in in-app revenue in the past year. Users have created more than 200 million videos on the platform, with only 25% of revenue coming from the U.S.-a clear sign Mirage is resonating worldwide.
General Catalyst’s Pranav Singhvi says Mirage is nailing product-market fit: “Mirage’s business equation is extremely figured out. They know exactly how to spend that dollar and generate a very attractive ROI.” He points out that Mirage’s total addressable market spans from creators and influencers to enterprises, giving the company plenty of room to grow.
Mirage plans to use the new funding to fuel growth and expand especially in high-growth Asian markets. The company is also working on new models focused on “assembly intelligence”-essentially, smarter ways to piece together videos from multiple sources and components. Details are scarce, but the goal is to make video creation faster and more flexible for both individuals and teams.
The bottom line
- Mirage is doubling down on AI-powered video editing, targeting creators and businesses with new models and a freemium approach.
- The fresh $75M will help Mirage scale up, merge its platforms, and expand internationally, especially in Asia.
- Accent-preserving audio and smarter video assembly are on the roadmap, aiming to give Mirage an edge in a crowded market.