The archive · Developer & Business Tools · Product decision · 2025–2026
Videotto's AI video editor, built by two 18-year-olds, wins East Ventures seed
Two 18-year-old Singaporeans built Videotto, an AI editor that turns long footage into platform-ready clips; East Ventures backed it.
Videotto
What the business is
An AI-native video editing platform that uploads long-form footage, auto-selects the best moments, adds captions and transitions, and generates platform-optimized short clips while learning each user's style.
How it started
Videotto was founded in 2025 in Singapore by two 18-year-olds: Tay Yao Ming (CEO) and Ian Lee (CTO), joined by Felix Isaac Lim and Chong Kah Hian as a four-person strike team. The idea came from Tay's own podcast on young founders: editing a single episode into short clips took him about 20 hours, so he approached Ian to build an AI Video Automation Platform that would handle the selection, captions, scene arrangement, sound and transitions automatically.
What happened
In October 2025, East Ventures invested an undisclosed seed amount. Managing partner Willson Cuaca heard Tay's pitch at a POL-ITE Entrepreneurs' Challenge Dialogue organized by ACE.SG and decided to invest the next day, citing the firm's founder-first thesis. Videotto planned to debut publicly at Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2025 from October 29–31, accelerate product development, expand technical talent, and acquire high-value clients across the region. The company pitches up to 100x efficiency in turning long videos into short clips.
No ending yet — it is still running.
Background
Videotto was founded in Singapore in 2025 by two 18-year-old entrepreneurs — Tay Yao Ming (CEO) and Ian Lee (CTO) — with a four-person strike team. The trigger was personal: while running a podcast interviewing young founders, Tay spent about 20 hours editing a single episode into short-form clips, so he approached Ian to build an AI Video Automation Platform.
The platform uploads long footage and automatically selects the best moments, adds captions, arranges scenes, adjusts sound and lighting, applies transitions, and generates multiple short videos optimized for different social media channels, learning the user's editing style over time. Videotto pitches up to 100x efficiency for livestreamers, creators and agencies turning long videos into clips.
In October 2025, East Ventures made an undisclosed seed investment. Managing partner Willson Cuaca heard Tay's pitch at an ACE.SG entrepreneurs' dialogue and invested the next day, framing it as the firm's founder-first thesis: innovation can come from anyone regardless of age. Videotto planned its first public demo at SWITCH 2025 (October 29–31) and said it would accelerate product development, expand technical talent and acquire high-value clients across the region.
What has to be true
- The founder's own 20-hours-per-episode pain proved the need before any market research — the cheapest product-market fit test.
- AI automating selection, captions, sound, lighting and per-platform formatting attacks creators' biggest time sink, not just another filter.
- East Ventures invested a day after hearing the pitch, betting on founder speed and conviction rather than credentials or age.
- Learning each user's editing style over time builds switching costs that generic editors lack.
What can be applied
Building the tool you personally needed is the cheapest product-market fit test: the founder's own 20-hour editing pain became the product's first use case and pitch.
Aftermath
As of late October 2025, Videotto is in building stage: it closed an undisclosed seed round from East Ventures, planned its first public product demonstration at SWITCH 2025 in Singapore (October 29–31), and said it would accelerate product development, expand technical talent and acquire high-value clients across the region with the funds. The four-person team was hardening its infrastructure. No revenue, valuation or follow-on round has been disclosed; the open question is whether an AI editor can win creators' default workflow in a crowded market of video-AI tools.
Sources
- Videotto, an AI-native video editing startup founded by 18-year-old innovators, has secured seed funding from East Ventures
- East Ventures invests in Singapore's AI-native video editing startup Videotto
- 18-Year-Old Founders' AI Startup Videotto Raises Seed Funding from East Ventures
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