AI Media Search Startup Clipto Reaches $250 Million Valuation
AI-powered media search and indexing startup Clipto has raised $15 million in an equity funding round, bringing its valuation to $250 million.
Clipto, a startup that makes growing content piles searchable locally on files in the era of generative AI, has raised $15 million in a funding round, reaching a market valuation of $250 million.
Funding Round and Valuation
San Francisco-based AI startup Clipto has secured $15 million in an all-equity funding round. With this investment, the company's total market valuation has risen to $250 million.
Investors and Global Team
The company's investors include HSG, GL Ventures, EnvisionX Capital, Palm Drive Capital, Hans Tung, Lu Zhang, and 522 Ventures. In addition to San Francisco, the startup also has teams in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Local File Indexing Technology
Clipto indexes video, audio, image, meeting, and similar files on computers locally. Users can search through files without examining folders, by describing them, or via AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude.
Founding Story and Background
Founder Henry Kang has been working on object recognition and environmental recording since his Ph.D. years at Carnegie Mellon University. Kang sold his second company, Zenvideo, to Tencent in 2020.
Expanding User Base
Initially developed for video content creators, the system is also used by lawyers, doctors, researchers, marketers, academics, and students. More than 30 million people have used the startup's products since launch.
Financial Status and Growth
Clipto reached $15 million in annual recurring revenue at the beginning of 2026 and maintains profitability on a net income basis. The company has a total of more than twenty employees across the San Francisco Bay Area, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Model Context Protocol Support
Model Context Protocol support was added to the startup's system about two weeks ago. With user authorization, AI applications can access only indexed data within the specified scope.
Market Competition and Goals
While major tech giants like Adobe, Apple, and Google offer search for files within their own ecosystems, Clipto integrates data in different formats. The newly received investment will be used to develop AI models and computing infrastructure.