Just tested out Hera.video, and this is seriously impressive for anyone who needs motion graphics but doesn't want to spend hours in After Effects. What is Hera? Hera is an AI-powered motion graphics creator (backed by Y Combinator) that lets you generate professional animations in seconds. Think animated charts, data visualizations, explainer graphics, social media content - all the stuff that normally takes forever to create manually. Why it's a game-changer: The biggest thing that sets Hera apart is that you can actually EDIT after the AI generates your animation. Most AI video tools are black boxes - you get what you get. With Hera, you can prompt it to create something, then customize and personalize it after. They also have 100+ templates you can remix instead of starting from scratch. Key features: - Animated charts and data visualizations - Interactive map animations - Social media motion graphics (supports 16:9, square, vertical formats) - Customizable durations (I tested with 15 seconds) - Full editing capabilities after AI generation How to get started: 1. Go to hera.video 2. Click "Start creating" (it's free to use) 3. Either browse their template library and click "Use as template" on one you like, OR start from scratch with a text prompt 4. Describe what you want (be specific - "animated bar chart showing revenue growth over 4 quarters" works better than "make a chart") 5. Let the AI generate your animation 6. Edit and customize as needed 7. Export your video Pro tip: Their chart and map features are particularly powerful if you're creating educational content, business presentations, or data-driven social media posts. Perfect for content creators, marketers, or anyone who needs quick professional motion graphics without the learning curve of traditional animation software. Try it out and drop your creations in the comments! Would love to see what you all make with this.

Tencent just dropped an AI that turns text into a 3D game world you can actually walk through. It's called Highworld 1.5. You can access it HERE Run it on GitHub HERE If Hyworld 1.5 gives you trouble, try Worlds Lab HERE You type a prompt or upload an image, and it builds you a fully playable 3D environment. I asked for a medieval castle and got an entire kingdom I could explore with mouse and keyboard controls. I spawned as a knight and could walk around, trigger events, and change things. The crazy part? It's free right now. This isn't just rendering a static scene. You're IN the world. Moving around. Interacting with it. All generated from a simple text prompt in seconds. Why this matters: we're moving from "AI makes images" to "AI makes entire interactive experiences." Game devs, educators, and anyone building virtual environments should be paying attention to this shift. I'm adding this to the AI tools database. Expect more tools like this to drop in 2025. What would you build with this? Drop your ideas below.

Google just dropped Pomelli, and it's quite remarkable. Here's the full breakdown. --- WHAT IS POMELLI? Pomelli is Google's new AI marketing tool that generates complete campaign ideas with all the content, captions, and visuals you need - for free. Link: https://labs.google.com/pomelli/about/ It's still in Google Labs (experimental), but it's live, and anyone can use it. --- HOW IT WORKS: Step 1: Paste in your website URL Step 2: The AI scans everything: - Your brand visuals - Your tone of voice - Your product/service - Your existing content Step 3: It generates multiple complete marketing campaigns: - Campaign concepts and themes - Social media posts with captions - Visual mockups - Content calendars - Different variations to test Step 4: Edit and customize everything to match your needs Takes about 5-10 minutes to generate a full campaign that would normally take your team days or weeks. --- WHAT YOU GET: ✅ Multiple campaign concepts (usually 3-5 different directions) ✅ Ready-to-use social media posts ✅ Caption copy for each post ✅ Visual mockups and design suggestions ✅ Campaign strategy overview ✅ Fully editable assets Everything is customizable - you're not locked into what the AI generates. --- BEST USE CASES: For Startups: - Launch campaigns when you don't have a marketing team - Test multiple campaign angles before investing in one - Generate content for beta launches or product drops For Founders: - Quickly spin up marketing campaigns for new features - Get inspiration when you're stuck on positioning - Create content calendars without hiring an agency For Small Teams: - 10x your output without hiring more people - Test campaign concepts before committing budget - Generate variations to A/B test --- WHAT IT'S NOT GOOD FOR: ❌ Replacing human strategy - It generates ideas, but you still need to know what works for your audience ❌ Final polished assets - The visuals are mockups; you'll need a designer to finalize

I'm going through 30+ companies from Y Combinator's Winter 2026 batch and ranking them based on what I'd actually invest in. Here's company #1: o11 What They Do: AI platform for capital markets built directly into Microsoft 365 (Excel, Word, PowerPoint). They're targeting investment banks, hedge funds, and asset managers. Why I'm Bullish (9/10 Rating): 1. They Meet Users Where They Are - Capital markets firms haven't changed workflows in decades - They live in Excel and Word - Most AI companies fail because they ask users to abandon everything and adopt new platforms - o11 just plugs into the tools they already use every day 2. Founder Credibility is Insane - Aryah: Morehead-Cain Scholar, led AI at two major capital markets firms - Ajay: 4x founder, ex-Mayo Clinic AI Lab - Technical depth + domain expertise = rare combo 3. Business Model is a Money Printer - B2B SaaS in fintech = high margins, sticky contracts - Enterprise deals in capital markets = massive contract values - If they land 2-3 major banks, they're set - Switching costs are HIGH once integrated into daily workflows 4. TAM is Massive - Trillions flow through these firms - Efficiency gains = direct bottom-line impact - AI in capital markets is inevitable; question is who captures it What do you think? Would you invest in o11? What am I missing in my analysis? Drop your thoughts below 👇 (29 more companies coming in this series - who should I cover next?) P.S. - Want access to my full ranking spreadsheet with all 30+ companies, my ratings, and investment theses? I'll be dropping that exclusively in here once I finish the series. 📊

If you're here from social media, welcome to Venture Insider 🚀 Google has just unveiled Disco - its new AI-powered browser that's set to revolutionize how we interact with the web. I got early access, and I'm breaking it all down here. GET EARLY ACCESS: 👉 https://labs.google/disco --- What is Disco? Disco is Google's experimental AI browser that integrates their latest Gemini models directly into your browsing experience. Think of it as Chrome on steroids - it can: → Summarize entire web pages in seconds → Answer questions about content you're viewing in real-time → Generate content based on multiple sources simultaneously → Navigate and extract info across tabs autonomously This isn't just another AI wrapper. It's Google's play to own the next generation of web browsing. --- Why VCs care (and why I'm paying attention): This signals a significant shift in how Google thinks about AI distribution. Instead of bolting AI onto existing products, they're rebuilding the browser from scratch with AI at the core. What this means for startups: - The "AI browser" vertical is about to get very crowded (Arc, Brave, Opera already moving) - Huge opportunity in AI-native productivity tools built FOR browsers like Disco - Search is being disrupted in real-time - I'm seeing deal flow spike in alternative search/discovery startups I'm actively evaluating companies building: ✅ AI-powered research tools ✅ Browser-native AI agents ✅ Next-gen knowledge management systems --- How to actually use Disco (my testing notes): Best use cases I've found: 1. Research deep-dives - Ask Disco to summarize 10+ articles on a topic and synthesize key insights 2. Competitive analysis - Have it compare competitor websites and extract differentiators 3. Content creation - Feed it sources and have it generate outlines/drafts based on multiple references 4. Learning - Ask questions about complex topics and get explanations with cited sources What works: - Way faster than manually clicking through sources