Josh, one of India’s most popular and fastest-growing apps, has partnered with D-ID, a market leader in artificial intelligence-based video re-enactment. Josh’s users can now make videos from still images with D-ID’s proprietary Live Portrait technology by adding music to the still images, then share the videos with their followers for free.
Umang Bedi, the Co-founder of Josh, commented, “D-ID’s technology is a natural fit for Josh, as we strive to deliver a product and a platform that increasingly captures India’s mindshare and timeshare. The quality, resolution, speed, and accuracy of their facial animation are exactly what we were looking for when developing our new photo to video feature. We know our many millions of users will love using this new feature, enhancing their experience even further. We’re excited to see the response and to continue working with D-ID as we develop this new feature even further.”
Josh is owned by VerSe Innovation, India’s first tech unicorn focused on local languages. Through the new feature, Josh’s millions of users will be able to watch portraits move and dance with engaging music, which is the most powerful integration of synthetic media yet for short-video apps. The Josh Skill was launched last month to improve the app experience and inspire creativity on the Alexa platform. It is the first Alexa for Apps skill in India.
D-ID specializes in developing video productions that use AI and Deep Learning to re-enact historical events, ranging from animating still photos to creating high-quality videos. The D-ID app launched a new feature in February called Deep Nostalgia in conjunction with pioneering genealogy company MyHeritage, allowing users to see their ancestors’ photos and feelings in real-time. As a result, the app was viral within days of launch and quickly became Apple’s most download app, with over 85 million animations created.
The CEO and Co-founder of D-ID, said, “We’re delighted to be working with Josh, one of the fastest-growing short-video apps in the world, developing this new feature for their customers and showcasing the many possibilities that AI and synthetic media will bring to the future of content development, entertainment, and social media. Working with a leading Indian company is an exciting move for D-ID as we continue to expand our technology across the globe.”
In the Josh app, the new photo to video feature makes it possible for users to animate their photos with moves that fall into three categories: funny, nostalgic, and dancing – all with accompanying background music soundtracks. The animated video can then be shared across the platform with the user’s followers.