TechCrunch has exclusively learned that presentation company Gamma has acquired the Accel-backed design firm Lica. This acquisition aims to establish Gamma’s own design research lab, which will be spearheaded by Lica’s co-founders.
Initially, Lica developed an application capable of converting screenshots and recordings into project presentations and videos. Established in 2023 by Priyaa Kalyanaraman and Purvanshi Mehta, the company secured $4 million in funding a year later from investors such as Accel, South Park Commons, and Village Global. In recent years, Lica has specialized in assisting e-commerce platforms with producing marketing videos that comply with their brand guidelines.
According to Kalyanaraman, Lica’s objective was to develop AI models focused on communication modalities like video and design. The founders were already acquainted with Gamma’s CEO, Grant Lee, due to both companies receiving backing from Accel and South Park Commons. These discussions ultimately resulted in the acquisition.
Kalyanaraman explained to TechCrunch, “Our core visions align in simplifying visual communication. Our emphasis was on cutting-edge research and ensuring its user accessibility, but that represented only a segment of the overall solution. Gamma, on the other hand, excelled in establishing broad distribution, reaching over 100 million users with its application. Recognizing the rapid pace of development, we opted to collaborate.”
While Gamma will maintain its primary focus on assisting users with presentation creation, it has, similar to other design firms, also ventured into offering image generation capabilities. The company indicates its intention to investigate diverse communication formats through its newly formed research division.
Lee stated, “Currently, presentations are a fundamental application for us, but we aim to explore how to evolve their appearance and user experience, and how individuals will interact with them in the future. What visual possibilities exist? How interactive can they become? Addressing these inquiries demands a profound consideration of communication’s fundamental role. This is precisely why we are eager to invest in this domain, as we believe no one else is contemplating it at such a depth.”
Mehta from Lica indicated that the newly established research division would concentrate on tailoring the presentation and communication styles of AI models to suit various audiences and preferences.
She elaborated, “The purpose of a presentation is to convey a significant objective. We envision developing a platform where these two aims can be highly personalized, enabling users to achieve exceptional outputs that can then be further refined for diverse audiences.”
Gamma did not disclose specific products intended for development post-acquisition, but it did express a desire to develop seamless, multimodal presentations and other forms of communication.
In recent years, AI presentation startups have attracted substantial investor interest and capital. For instance, Prezent secured $50 million across two funding rounds; Gamma obtained $68 million, achieving a $2.1 billion valuation; and Presentations.ai also received support from Accel. This sector is even beginning to experience consolidation, as evidenced by OpenAI’s acquisition of NextSlide earlier this month.