Mirelo Secures $41M Seed to Solve Silent AI Video
By Trevor Loucks
Founder & Lead Developer, Dynamoi
Generative video has a noise problem: it doesn't make any. While tools like Sora and Kling can conjure hyper-realistic visuals from text, the results are stuck in the silent film era.
On Tuesday, Berlin-based startup Mirelo announced a massive $41 million seed round to fix this bottleneck. The deal, co-led by Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), isn't just a funding milestone. It is a strategic signal that venture capital is pivoting from video generation to the infrastructure required to make that video usable.
The end of silence
The current workflow for AI video creators is fractured. Users generate visuals in one tool, then scour stock audio libraries for sound effects, manually syncing footsteps or car engines to the action. It is tedious, expensive friction.
Mirelo aims to be the "audio layer" for this new ecosystem. By using foundation models that condition audio generation directly on video pixels, the platform automates the synchronization process. CEO CJ Simon-Gabriel, a former Amazon researcher and musician, frames the shift simply: "Video without sound has so much less feeling and atmosphere."
Anatomy of a mega-seed
A $41 million seed round is an outlier in a market where early-stage checks usually cap at $5 million. This valuation suggests investors view Mirelo not as a simple tool, but as a potential platform monopoly for the generative internet.
The investors:
- Leads: Index Ventures and a16z.
- Strategic Angels: Arthur Mensch (CEO of Mistral AI) and Antoine Le Nel (Revolut).
- Total funding: Approximately $44 million to date.
The tech:
The core product, accessible via Mirelo Studio and an API, focuses on Sound Effects (SFX) and Atmospheres. Unlike LLMs that predict text, Mirelo's models predict sound waves based on visual inputs. The company claims its Mirelo SFX v1.5 model requires 50x less computing power than typical large language systems while delivering superior synchronization.
The regulatory hurdle
Coinciding with the funding news, the UK Government released its "Copyright and AI Statement of Progress" on December 16, 2025. The findings present a significant complication for the sector.
The UK Intellectual Property Office found that 95% of respondents support the licensing of training data over copyright exceptions. This creates a binary future for companies like Mirelo:
- The Licensed Path: Mirelo claims to use "public and purchased sound libraries" and is signing revenue-sharing partnerships. If their data provenance is watertight, regulation becomes a moat that protects them from scrappy competitors.
- The Litigation Path: If their definition of "legitimate interest" falls short of full licensing, they face the same legal headwinds currently battering Suno and Udio.
Key insight: In a regulated AI market, a "clean" dataset becomes a company's most valuable asset—and its highest barrier to entry.
Why libraries are nervous
This technology represents a direct threat to the lower end of the synchronization market and stock audio libraries. Production music libraries currently rely on volume—selling subscriptions to creators who need generic sounds.
The disruption: If Mirelo can generate a perfectly synced "cinematic whoosh" or "crowded bar ambience" for a flat monthly fee, the necessity of searching traditional libraries evaporates. Stock audio companies must pivot to premium human curation or integrate similar AI tools into their own search functionality immediately to survive.
What rights holders should do
For labels and publishers, the rise of the "audio layer" offers a specific opportunity: licensing stems and isolated SFX catalogs. As the UK report indicates, governments are leaning toward a "pay-to-play" model for training data. Rights holders with organized, tagged archives of instrumental textures and sound effects are sitting on the raw materials for the next generation of video production.
About the Editor
Trevor Loucks is the founder and lead developer of Dynamoi, where he focuses on the convergence of music business strategy and advertising technology. He focuses on applying the latest ad-tech techniques to artist and record label campaigns so they compound downstream music royalty growth.
