Lemon Slice Debuts with $10.5M in Funding and Unveils Real-Time Interactive Avatars

First of its kind AI model transforms a single photo into interactive, conversational video 

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — New frontier AI research and product lab, Lemon Slice, is building the future of interactive video by developing foundational technology that other companies integrate into their products. Today, the company launched Lemon Slice-2: the first real-time AI avatar model that turns any image into a live, conversational video call. No training data. No style limitations. Just one photo and the product creates an instant interactive experience with any character you can imagine. 

Existing avatar tools require users to upload videos, train custom models, or work only with photorealistic faces. Lemon Slice-2 is zero-shot: upload a single image—a corporate headshot, a beloved cartoon animal, a Renaissance painting—and start a real-time video conversation immediately. 

Lemon Slice-2 is launching today in two forms: an API for developers building interactive avatars into products, and an embeddable widget that lets merchants add a ‘video chat bubble’ to any website with a single line of code.The widget is like an AI support agent that users can see and talk to that captures attention, boosts conversions, and increases customer satisfaction.

“This is the first time since ChatGPT’s initial launch when I tried a product and thought ‘ah, so this is how people will talk to computers in the future,'” said Jared Friedman, Y Combinator Partner and Managing Director. 

Unlimited Use Cases from eCommerce & Sales Assistants, to Children’s Education to Healthcare and Coaching

The in-house developed, proprietary diffusion transformer video model, Lemon Slice-2, enables first-of-its-kind interactive, visual experiences that have not been possible until now. Educational tools for children become far more compelling and interactive when their favorite cartoon character is helping them study for an upcoming test. With Lemon Slice, a cute alien teaches math lessons, administers quizzes, and answers follow-up questions. Online shopping becomes more engaging when a virtual stylist can navigate the full site and model outfits or conversationally answer return policy questions. And rather than sitting in a doctor’s waiting room filling out forms, a virtual assistant conversationally guides patients through intake or answers preliminary questions about a medical procedure.

Lemon Slice’s Technical Breakthrough 

Lemon Slice 2 is built on a proprietary large-scale video diffusion transformer, similar in class to OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo3 – but specialized for talking humans and optimized for real-time performance. The Lemon Slice-2 model is something developers can use to turn any voice agent or chatbot into an interactive video call.

Lemon Slice is the first to ship production ready real-time interactive video, not just a technology demo. Unlike existing avatar tools, Lemon Slice-2 generates every pixel from scratch, enabling full-emotion facial animation, hand gestures, and expressive whole-body movements. Only a few other labs have tech demos of real-time AI video, but Lemon Slice is the only company that has shipped a usable API or product.

“The primary complaint about AI avatars is that they lack realism and detract value. Our avatar models are charismatic and fun to interact with,” said Lina Colucci, Co-Founder and CEO of Lemon Slice. “In the future, all video will be interactive and personalized to whoever is watching. We’re building the technology that makes that possible.” 

Critical Guardrails to Keep Privacy and Safety at the Forefront

Lemon Slice has implemented significant guardrails to prevent unauthorized face and voice cloning, including consent attestation requirements and LLM-based content moderation. The widget clearly indicates to users they are chatting with an AI character. Terms & Conditions require that people only use photos and voices they have consent for. Users will be banned if they do otherwise. 

An Impressive Founding Team

The company has raised $10.5 million in seed funding from Matrix Partners, Y Combinator, Arash Ferdowsi (CTO Dropbox), Emmett Shear (CEO Twitch), and EDM-pop duo, The Chainsmokers, to accelerate development. Lemon Slice’s nimble team is led by co-founders Lina Colucci, Sidney Primas, and Andrew Weitz—PhDs who are also lifelong creators. Colucci is a ballerina, musician and vlogger, while Primas and Weitz grew up making home videos in the early days of YouTube. All three hold degrees from institutions including MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Duke, and bring deep AI expertise—but it’s their shared love of visual storytelling that drives the company’s vision.

“People connect with faces, not text boxes,” said Ilya Sukhar, Matrix General Partner. “Lemon Slice is building charismatic, interactive avatars that give every chatbot a face. It’s the natural evolution of conversational AI.”

About Lemon Slice

Lemon Slice is a frontier AI research and product lab building the future of interactive video. The company believes all video will eventually be interactive—generated on the fly and personalized to whoever is watching. Lemon Slice is building both the core video foundation model technology and the platform layer to enable this new medium. Backed by $10.5 million in seed funding, the team of eight includes talent from MIT, Harvard, Stanford, CMU, and Duke with deep expertise in AI and a shared passion for visual storytelling. To learn more, visit lemonslice.com.

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Mary Devincenzi
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SOURCE Lemon Slice