Bilibili leads investment in local startup Versa

Shanghai-based startup Versa, which develops mobile video clipping and editing applications, said it received “several dozen million dollars” in its latest round of financing.

The investors include Bilibili and GP Capital. 

Versa, founded in 2017, adopts artificial intelligence and related technologies to help users edit videos. 

“Leading AI technology lowers people's creative thresholds and liberates creativity,” Cai Tianyi, Versa’s chief executive, said in a statement. 

With the investment, the company said it will further explore the in-depth application of artificial intelligence in the imaging fields and accelerate the transformation of AI algorithms in the laboratory to a technology that users can control.

Bugu Clipping, Versa’s latest video clipping application, has been recommended on Apple’s online store since its recent debut. It features AI tech such as splitting tracks by identifying video content and automatic dealing with mutli-layers.

It is specially optimized for video creators on Bilibili, covering games, dancing, entertainment, film and lifestyle content.

By June, Shanghai-based Bilibili said it had 172 million monthly active users, making it one of China’s leading online video platforms and youth communities. It led the investment in Versa.

Versa has been cooperating with Shanghai Jiao Tong University since 2018 in AI and computing vision innovations. Its previous applications have attracted about 50 million users around the world.