Absurd

What do they actually do

Absurd makes short, attention‑grabbing AI video ads for product launches. Human creative directors collaborate with autonomous AI agents to ideate, script, storyboard, generate footage on an interactive canvas, and then in‑house editors assemble a final cut. They claim a ~72‑hour turnaround for studio‑quality spots and highlight average ~300K views per video on X, with some launches (e.g., Kalshi) surpassing 1M views YC profile.

The current delivery looks like a high‑touch creative service augmented by automation: ideation over Slack, live collaboration on a Figma‑like canvas as shots render, and human editing to finish the ad YC profile, LinkedIn.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Startup marketing/launch managers: They need a standout launch video on a tight timeline without in‑house video talent or long agency lead times; delays or generic creative risk a flat launch YC profile.
• Founders with time‑boxed launches: They’re under pressure to create immediate buzz but face the cost, coordination, and lead time of traditional production.
• Growth/performance marketers: They must test many creative variants quickly across social, but slow, expensive video production blocks iteration and wastes ad spend when concepts don’t perform.
• Small consumer/DTC brands: Tiny creative teams can’t justify agency retainers for each campaign; they need repeatable, polished short‑form ads that still feel distinctive and shareable.
• Agencies/media buyers: They need reliable, fast suppliers of social‑first video; freelancers can be inconsistent and slow, creating overhead and campaign risk.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Use founder and YC network intros plus direct LinkedIn outreach to run discounted pilot launches in exchange for public case studies and testimonials YC profile, LinkedIn.
• First 50: Publish early case studies and a one‑page launch playbook, then run targeted outbound to accelerators and growth teams with a fixed‑price package; add an account manager to standardize onboarding.
• First 100: Ship a lightweight self‑serve demo/order flow on the canvas with a low‑touch template tier; add referral/rev‑share partners (agencies/media buyers) and run paid/creator ads using case studies as proof.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Global digital video ad spend is a strong proxy for short‑form social/video budgets; Statista projects about $115.75B in 2025 Statista.

Bottom-up calculation:

Apply a common rule‑of‑thumb that 20–30% of ad budgets fund creative/production rather than media buys, yielding a serviceable pool of ~$23.2B–$34.7B for video creative/production in 2025 DashClicks, Simulmedia, Statista.

Assumptions:

• Use global digital video ad spend as a proxy for short‑form/social video budgets.
• Creative/production typically represents ~20–30% of campaign budgets across channels.
• Excludes platform/media spend; focuses on dollars paid to create short‑form video assets.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Runway: A product‑first generative video and editing suite with collaborative workflows used by creators and agencies to prototype and produce social ads; teams wanting self‑serve text‑to‑video and heavy visual editing often choose it over a studio service Runway AI for Ads.
• Synthesia: Text‑to‑video with AI avatars for fast marketing/explainer videos at scale; chosen when teams need repeatable talking‑head/localized content without a production crew Synthesia.
• HeyGen: Focuses on hyper‑real avatars, localization, and personalized video for marketers; prioritized when easy personalization and language support matter more than bespoke concepts HeyGen, TechCrunch.
• Pictory: Template‑plus‑AI workflow that turns scripts/articles/long videos into short social clips and ads quickly; competes on low‑friction, high‑volume production for small teams Pictory.
• VidMob: Creative‑data platform plus on‑demand studio to produce and optimize ad creative at scale; appeals to teams prioritizing data‑driven iteration across campaigns VidMob, VidMob blog.