AI Video and Avatars: HeyGen, Synthesia, Sora, Veo — 2026-09-10
China's Supreme People's Court issued new liability guidelines for AI deepfakes and voice cloning on September 7, impacting global avatar compliance. Meanwhile, Chinese AI video tools like Hailuo (MiniMax) and Kling are aggressively cutting generation times and costs, with Hailuo claiming 3-second generation for 5-second clips.
AI Video and Avatars: HeyGen, Synthesia, Sora, Veo — 2026-09-10
China’s Supreme Court Defines AI Deepfake Liability
On September 7, 2026, China's Supreme People's Court released new judicial interpretations clarifying legal liability for AI-generated deepfakes and voice cloning. The rules aim to establish clear accountability for entities that deploy AI tools to create synthetic media without consent, particularly in commercial contexts. This move is significant for global AI video platforms operating in or serving the Chinese market, setting a precedent for how "digital doubles" and synthetic avatars must be regulated to avoid legal penalties.
Hailuo (MiniMax) Claims 3-Second Generation for 5-Second Clips
On September 3, MiniMax announced via its open platform that its H3Max model can now generate a 5-second, 768P video with audio in under 3 seconds. This near-real-time generation capability allows developers to integrate the tool into live streaming environments, such as Twitch, enabling 24/7 "AI television" broadcasts. The speed improvement drastically lowers the barrier for real-time interactive video applications and challenges competitors like Runway and Sora on latency metrics.
Kling AI Raises Funds and Solidifies Market Position
Kling AI, backed by Kuaishou, has successfully raised approximately 20 billion RMB (approx. $2.8 billion) in recent funding rounds, according to reports from early September. This capital injection supports its aggressive expansion and infrastructure scaling as it competes with Western models like Veo and Sora. With an annualized revenue run-rate estimated at $500 million by mid-2026, Kling continues to dominate the Chinese market and is increasingly recognized globally for its cost-efficiency and high-quality output.
Sora Consumer App Shutdown Confirmed in Recent Discussions
Recent industry analyses confirm that OpenAI shut down the standalone Sora consumer app in April 2026, shifting focus to enterprise integration and API access. Current discussions highlight that while the standalone app is gone, Sora 2 capabilities are being integrated into other platforms, such as HeyGen, which now offers access to Sora 2 models within its subscription tiers. This consolidation signals a shift from consumer-facing viral apps to B2B workflow integration for AI video generation.
Local view
Chinese tech media outlets like Smzdm (What's Worth Buying) are closely tracking the "pricing war" among domestic AI video tools. They report that Jimeng (ByteDance) has raised prices three times in one month, while Hailuo is competing on speed and Kling on scale. The local narrative focuses on the "cost-performance ratio" of these tools for small business advertisers and content creators, emphasizing that the era of free, unlimited generation is ending as companies seek to monetize heavy compute costs.
Context & numbers
- Kling AI Revenue: Estimated at $500 million annualized revenue by mid-2026, with over 60 million creators and 600 million videos generated.
- HeyGen ARR: Hit $205 million in annual recurring revenue in June 2026, up from $123 million at the end of 2025.
- Synthesia: Reported to have surpassed $100 million in revenue as of April 2025, maintaining a strong position in enterprise training videos.
- Sora Compute Costs: Reports indicate Sora operations incurred losses of approximately $15 million per day prior to the consumer app shutdown, highlighting the economic challenges of high-fidelity video generation.
- Runway Pricing: Gen-4 Turbo costs 5 credits/sec, while Gen-4.5 costs 25 credits/sec, reflecting increased compute demands for higher quality.
On the radar
- SAG-AFTRA Negotiations: Ongoing talks between actors' unions and studios regarding the "Tilly tax" on AI film characters continue to influence how Hollywood adopts synthetic performers.
- State Deepfake Laws: US states are rapidly expanding deepfake restrictions ahead of the 2026 midterms, potentially impacting political ad creation using AI avatars.
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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