AI video market map 2026: 137 companies across 10 layers
🚨 New market map: AI video in 2026 — 137 companies, 10 layers The most crowded layer isn't the mod...
The structure of the value chain matters more than any single player: platform wrappers and inference APIs now capture revenue comparable to model makers themselves. Chinese short-drama tooling, largely absent from Western maps, shows where production costs are collapsing fastest. Builders choosing where to enter video AI can use the full map to spot the thin layers.
A new market map dated Nov 2026 catalogues 137 AI video companies across 10 layers, from big-tech models to AI drama production tools. The most crowded layer is creation platforms with 34 players, led by Higgsfield at US$700M annualized revenue, near fal's US$800M in the inference API layer. Among model makers, Kling (Kuaishou) reports about US$500M ARR as of Q1 2026, while Runway sits at a ~US$5.3B valuation and OpenAI shut down Sora in March 2026. The map also covers the AI drama toolchain with 30 companies, including SenseTime Seko and Tencent WorkRally, noting a short-drama series that once needed a 30-person crew for a month now needs 5–10 people for a week.
🚨 New market map: AI video in 2026 — 137 companies, 10 layers The most crowded layer isn't the mod...
🚨 New market map: AI video in 2026 — 137 companies, 10 layers The most crowded layer isn't the models. It's the 34 creation platforms that wrap them: Higgsfield alone is at $700M annualized revenue, close to fal's $800M for serving the models underneath. Layer by layer: 1. Big-tech models (13) — Google Veo, ByteDance Seedance, Kling. Kling is at ~$500M ARR (Kuaishou, Q1 2026). OpenAI shut down Sora in March. 2. Independent models (12) — Runway (~$5.3B val.), Luma (~$4B), Vidu ($2B+). They survive on one thing done best: camera control, character consistency, live-action edits. 3. World models (4) — World Labs (~$5B), Decart (~$4B), Odyssey ($1.45B), Google Genie 3. Not a clip you watch, a world you walk into. 4. Inference APIs (9) — fal ($800M annualized), Replicate, Runware. One endpoint, hundreds of models, billed by the second. 5. Creation platforms (34) — Higgsfield ($700M), Artlist (~$300M ARR), Magnific/Freepik ($230M), OpenArt, InVideo ($70M each). Every model, one workspace. 6. Editing & post (21) — CapCut (736M mobile MAU), Descript, Opus Clip ($50M+ ARR). Timeline editing → auto-cut, captions, generated B-roll. 7. Ads & marketing (14) — Topview, Pencil, Waymark. Hundreds of ad variants the same day, A/B tested. 8–10. AI drama tools (30) — the layer most Western maps miss. Storyboard (Boords, Katalist), production studios (LibTV, SenseTime Seko, Tencent WorkRally), dubbing (ElevenLabs, Rask, YouTube auto-dubbing). A short-drama series that took a 30-person crew a month now takes 5–10 people a week. Data as of Nov 2026, public sources; company-reported numbers are labeled as such on the map. Bookmark this — we'll update it every quarter. Full list + sources: ai-video-drama-map.vercel.app Z 💬 1 🔄 0 ❤️ 1 👀 377 📊 1 ⚡
