The archive · AI & Models · Product decision · 2024–2025
Pollo AI bets one hub for all video models; $14M seed at 6M MAU
Singapore's Pollo AI bundles Kling, Veo, Runway and more into one AI video suite, bootstrapping to 20M+ users and profitability before a $14M seed.
Pollo AI
What the business is
A Singapore-based AI creation suite that aggregates leading video and image models (Kling AI, Seedance, Runway, Veo, Vidu, PixVerse, Stable Diffusion) into one workspace for text-to-video, image-to-video and editing.
Starting capital：Bootstrapped by its HIX.AI team from launch; first institutional round was a $14M seed led by Gaorong Capital with ZhenFund (Dec 2025).
How it started
Pollo AI launched on October 15, 2024, developed by HIX.AI, the SEO-led AI writing startup founded by Bill Zhu (Zhu Chenbiao) and Luo Baishun. HIX.AI CEO Camille Sawyer announced it as a push to democratize AI video creation for hobbyists and professionals, with a free plan and paid upgrades from the first day.
What happened
Within seven months monthly active users passed 4 million; by December 2025 Pollo AI reported over 20 million registered users, more than 6 million monthly actives, over 200,000 daily actives and annualized revenue above $20 million, with break-even reached in May 2025. On December 4, 2025 it announced a $14M seed led by Gaorong Capital with ZhenFund - its first institutional round - to fund the model-aggregation platform, productization and global expansion. In August 2026, Forbes Asia named Pollo AI to its sixth annual 100 to Watch list, describing it as a Singapore company helping brands make marketing videos from scripts, templates and multimodal AI models.
How it ended up
Still scaling: a profitable, multi-model creation hub that raised its first venture round only after proving users would pay for access to every frontier video model in one place.
Background
Pollo AI is a Singapore-based AI video creation suite launched on October 15, 2024 by the team behind HIX.AI, an SEO-led AI writing startup founded by Bill Zhu (Zhu Chenbiao) and Luo Baishun. Its bet: instead of building one more proprietary video model, aggregate the field - Kling AI, Seedance, Runway, Veo, Vidu, PixVerse and Stable Diffusion - into a single workspace with one subscription, so hobbyists and brands can generate and compare clips without juggling tools.
The platform launched with a free tier and monetized through upgrades. Within seven months monthly active users passed 4 million; by December 2025 Pollo AI reported over 20 million registered users, more than 6 million monthly active users, over 200,000 daily actives and annualized revenue above $20 million, with break-even reached in May 2025.
On December 4, 2025, Pollo AI announced its first institutional round: a $14 million seed led by Gaorong Capital with ZhenFund participating, earmarked for building out the model-aggregation platform, productization and global expansion. In August 2026, Forbes Asia named Pollo AI to its sixth annual 100 to Watch list, describing it as a Singapore company helping brands produce marketing videos from scripts and templates.
The company remains consumer-facing and still scaling: a profitable, multi-model creation hub that took venture money only after proving users would pay for access to every frontier video model in one place.
What has to be true
- Distribution came from bundling: users avoided paying for several subscriptions and could compare outputs side by side, so one product covered needs that were previously spread across vendors.
- Bootstrapping first changed the raise: by the time Pollo AI took its $14M seed it was already break-even, so the round financed expansion rather than survival.
- SEO and creator-led growth fit the product: as an aggregator of hot models it could ride each model's own virality, and founder-led marketing kept customer acquisition cheap.
- It chose a crowded category but a clear position: 'AI CapCut' for marketers and creators, with a free entry point and a subscription that upgraded as models improved.
What can be applied
An aggregator can win a model arms race: users want every model behind one login, and reaching profitability before raising lets founders sell revenue, not promises.
Aftermath
As of September 2, 2026, Pollo AI is still scaling: over 20 million registered users and 6 million monthly active users as of December 2025, break-even since May 2025, and a $14M seed from Gaorong Capital and ZhenFund to fund the model-hub platform and global expansion. Forbes Asia named it to the 100 to Watch list in August 2026. It competes with single-model tools and suites like CapCut-style editors, betting that aggregation plus editing depth keeps users coming back as frontier models keep changing.
Sources
- Pollo AI Launches Its AI Video Generator
- Pollo AI完成1400万美元种子轮融资
- 15 Singapore companies among Forbes' '100 To Watch' in 2026
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