Key facts
- Gamma has acquired Lica, a design startup previously backed by Accel.
- The acquisition aims to establish a design research lab within Gamma.
- Lica's co-founders, Priyaa Kalyanaraman and Purvanshi Mehta, will lead the new division.
- Lica focused on creating AI-powered marketing videos and presentations.
- Gamma seeks to expand its offerings beyond presentations into broader visual communication.
Presentation startup Gamma has acquired Lica, a design startup backed by Accel, in a move to bolster its design research capabilities. Lica, founded in 2023 by Priyaa Kalyanaraman and Purvanshi Mehta, had previously raised $4 million from investors including Accel, South Park Commons, and Village Global. The startup focused on using AI to create marketing videos and presentations for e-commerce clients.
Kalyanaraman stated that both companies share a vision for simplifying visual communication, with Gamma having established a large user base and Lica focusing on frontier research. The acquisition aims to combine these strengths, allowing Gamma to explore new communication formats and multimodal presentations beyond its core presentation use case. Mehta indicated the new research division would focus on personalizing AI model outputs for various audiences and tastes.
Gamma did not disclose specific products resulting from the acquisition but expressed interest in developing fluid, multimodal communication tools. The AI presentation sector has seen significant investor interest, with companies like Prezent and Presentations.ai also receiving substantial funding. This acquisition follows OpenAI's recent purchase of NextSlide.