Yep, the viral AI-powered video editing app that creators have been buzzing about is officially rebranding. And it’s not just a name swap; this shift signals the company’s bigger ambition: transforming into an AI research lab laser-focused on multimodal foundation models tailored for short-form video — think TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
Why the name Mirage? According to CEO Gaurav Misra, it’s about reflecting a vision that goes way beyond video captions. “The real race for AI video hasn’t even started,” he told TechCrunch, explaining that Mirage is betting big on being the one to redefine the category altogether.
So, what’s new? Along with uniting its existing tools under the Mirage umbrella, the company is spotlighting Mirage Studio — its brand-focused platform launched earlier this year. The pitch is simple: let AI create your ads without expensive crews, actors, or weeks of production. Upload an audio file, and Mirage generates a video complete with a background and custom avatars. Want your own face in there? Snap a selfie and boom — you’ve got an avatar version of yourself that talks, moves, and emotes almost too realistically.
Unlike many competitors, Mirage claims it doesn’t rely on stock footage, lip-syncing, or voice cloning. Instead, its avatars are designed to have natural expressions, speech, and gestures. The business plan runs $399/month (8,000 credits), though new users get a 50% discount on month one.
Of course, all this shiny AI magic comes with baggage. The use of AI-generated faces in ads has already sparked backlash — like the Guess campaign in Vogue that used an AI model instead of a human one. Plus, we’re entering a world where spotting deepfakes is harder by the day. Mirage acknowledges this risk, saying it has moderation guardrails (no impersonation without consent, for example), but it also stresses that the long-term solution is media literacy: teaching people to question videos the same way they fact-check headlines.
Bottom line? Mirage is trying to position itself not just as a tool, but as a category-defining AI video lab. Whether it becomes the “OpenAI of short-form video” or just another AI trend will depend on how creators and brands actually use it — and how the world handles the blurred line between real and AI.
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