British AI unicorn Synthesia has launched its new generation of AI avatars, promising truly human-like digital speakers.

Synthesia CEO Victor Riparbelli said traditional AI avatars, including those made by his own company, have always struggled to capture the nuance of human facial expressions and emotions.

The London-based startup, which raised £71.4m last June in a round including chip giant Nvidia’s VC arm, claims to have solved this with its new generation of computerised presenters.

The new Synthesia “Expressive Avatars” build on previous methods, which involve looping footage of a human speaker and switching out the lip movements.

The company said its latest line can match the entire facial structure of a person and accurately determine the intended emotions for each line….