The AI Video Tool That Adobe Should Have Built

Just hunted Eddie's 2.0 launch on Product Hunt which solves post-production problems that industry giants overlooked

Hey everyone 👋

Today, I wanted to publish a special featured interview with a great founder friend of mine Shamir who is building a very fascinating AI + Video tool called Eddie.

They’re live on Product Hunt with their latest 2.0 launch so I recently sent him a few questions that I was genuinely curious about related to his story and their journey.

PS: It’s already trending in top 3 ranks on Product Hunt 😍 Here’s the direct link to show your support. Your quick feedback, upvotes, comments and suggestions are all welcome :)

Anyway, here’s the transcript of my interview with Shamir. Enjoy!

Interview with Shamir Allibhai, CEO of Eddie

1. Introduce yourself and your background as it relates to film/video and technology?

I began my career in film and television at the BBC in London, where I worked extensively in documentaries. While London served as my home base, much of my work took me around the world, capturing interviews in foreign languages that needed to be transcribed and translated. The logistical and technical challenges of video editing—especially in a fast-paced production environment—left a lasting impression on me.

To this day, I still recall the frustration of managing edits across time zones, dealing with endless transcription processes, and ensuring post-production workflows ran smoothly. Maybe I even have a bit of PTSD from those days.

About a decade ago, my career transitioned into technology, where I’ve been focused on building at the intersection of AI, audio, and video—long before AI became the buzzword it is today.

My last company, which tackled many of these same challenges, was acquired by Meta in 2021. Now, I’m working on Eddie, an AI-powered assistant designed to streamline video editing for professionals. Our goal is to eliminate the tedious aspects of post-production and make the editing process more intuitive and efficient.

2. Can you share what your product does? What problem does it solve and for whom specifically?

The inspiration behind Eddie AI comes from two key experiences. The first was witnessing the breakthrough of ChatGPT. Even for those of us deeply immersed in AI, its rapid advancement was surprising and transformative. It became clear that AI was evolving faster than many had anticipated, and the idea of applying that same level of intelligence to video editing was incredibly compelling. In fact, many of our users describe Eddy AI as “the ChatGPT for video editing,” and that comparison has been a major driving force behind our development.

The second inspiration stems from my own frustrations with video editing. As someone with a background in film and television, I’ve personally experienced the challenges of assembling coherent stories—finding the right soundbites, cutting them together seamlessly, and focusing on the emotional arc of a narrative. Too often, I found myself bogged down by technical complexities—searching for the right tools, navigating intricate interfaces, and wrestling with an overwhelming number of buttons and settings. I wanted to stay in the creative flow, shaping the story and evoking emotion, rather than getting lost in tedious, manual tasks.

Eddy AI was born from the belief that AI can serve as an intelligent agent for video professionals—one that liberates storytellers from these technical constraints and empowers them to focus on crafting compelling narratives. By automating the more frustrating aspects of video editing, Eddy allows creators to do what they do best: tell great stories.

How the Vision Has Evolved with Eddie AI 2.0

While our technology has advanced, our vision remains as strong as ever—perhaps even more so. The launch of Eddie AI 1.0 in October 2024 resonated deeply with users, validating our belief that video professionals need a smarter, AI-powered editing assistant. The overwhelming response and widespread adoption reaffirmed that we’re on the right path.

That being said, we’re still in the early days. Eddie AI is in its infancy, and there’s a long road ahead with an ambitious roadmap. But the traction we’ve seen so far, the sheer number of people eager to use and experiment with Eddie, has only strengthened our conviction. With version 2.0, we’re doubling down on our mission to revolutionize video editing—making it faster, more intuitive, and more aligned with the creative storytelling process.

The journey is just beginning, and we can’t wait to see how storytellers continue to use Eddie AI to bring their visions to life.

3. Can you walk us through what Eddie AI 2.0 does and which specific pain points it solves for video creators?

Eddie AI 2.0 tackles the most tedious aspects of video editing. It automatically logs and organizes footage by identifying soundbites across interviews and grouping them by topic, while also categorizing B-roll shots with detailed descriptions. This eliminates hours of manual searching. Beyond organization, Eddie 2.0 helps craft stories by assembling rough cuts from various interviews into coherent narratives. Unlike version 1.0's open-ended approach, the new version guides creators through structured steps, ensuring alignment between AI and creative vision. Ultimately, Eddie transforms editing from a technical chore into a more creative, fulfilling process.

4. How has customer feedback shaped the development of Eddie AI 2.0 since your initial launch?

Customer feedback has been instrumental in shaping Eddie AI’s evolution from version 1.0 to 2.0. One of the biggest insights we gained was how users approached the prompt box. Many interacted with Eddie the way they would with a search engine—using short, staccato phrases like “find best restaurant NYC.” The video editing equivalent of this was inputting vague commands like “create me a great edit.”

The challenge, however, is that storytelling is inherently subjective. If you give the same raw footage to five different video editors, you’ll end up with five unique narratives—each editor believing their version is the best. What we realized was that in order to deliver meaningful results, Eddie needed a way to align with the user’s creative intent throughout the process. Instead of relying on open-ended prompts, we introduced a structured workflow that adds a bit of friction upfront but ultimately leads to better edits, stronger narratives, and more satisfying results.

The biggest development in Eddie AI 2.0 is the introduction of Rough Cut Mode, a guided editing process that helps users craft compelling edits from large amounts of footage. By working step by step with the user, Eddie ensures that the final product better reflects their vision—making the AI more of a collaborative partner than just an automated tool.

Beyond refining the editing experience, we also made two major technical advancements in version 2.0:

1. Native Applications for Mac and Windows – By moving beyond the browser, Eddie now integrates more seamlessly into professional workflows. Video files are often massive, and with native apps, importing footage and starting an edit is significantly faster and more efficient.

2. Automated Footage Logging – One of the most tedious parts of video editing is logging hours of raw footage, organizing soundbites, and making sense of what’s been recorded. Eddie now automates this process, saving editors countless hours and allowing them to focus on storytelling rather than sifting through files.

With these updates, Eddie AI 2.0 is smarter, faster, and more intuitive—bridging the gap between AI-driven automation and human creativity in a way that truly empowers video professionals.

5. What's the most surprising way you've seen customers use Eddie AI that you hadn't anticipated?

One of the most surprising things we’ve learned since launching Eddie AI is the vast range of video use cases our customers have. When we first set out, our primary focus was on interview-based video editing—helping users extract soundbites from different interviewees and weave them into a cohesive story, usually ranging from three to ten minutes long. However, as we received feedback from a growing number of users, we quickly realized just how versatile Eddie AI could be across various types of video production.

For instance, many users were eager for Eddie to tackle the complexities of editing multi-cam podcasts, which we then added as a feature. We also expanded to help creators generate social media clips with ease, turning long-form content into shareable moments.

Perhaps the most surprising (and even a bit humorous) use case has come from wedding videographers. We never anticipated that so many wedding videographers would find Eddie AI useful for automating wedding video edits. The idea of taking hours of footage from a wedding, then quickly generating a beautiful, professional edit to send to clients, was something we hadn’t initially considered—but now, it’s become a sought-after feature.

This broad range of use cases has been incredibly eye-opening and reinforces how Eddie AI is becoming an indispensable tool for video creators in various niches. It’s not just for filmmakers and documentary editors anymore—Eddie is empowering creators across all types of video production to tell their stories more efficiently and effectively.

6. With the new pricing tiers, could you share which features have proven most valuable to your different user segments?

We’re still in the early days of offering subscriptions for Eddie AI, but turning them on was a significant milestone for us—one we thought about carefully before making the decision. Our priority was ensuring that Eddie was delivering real value before introducing paid plans.

However, as we continued gathering user feedback, we reached a point where it became increasingly difficult to distinguish between casual users and those who saw Eddie as an essential part of their workflow. The biggest advantage of launching subscriptions has been clarity: we now know exactly who our most engaged users are and whose feedback should be prioritized.

Since rolling out subscriptions at the end of January, this shift has been incredibly valuable. It allows us to focus on building features that directly benefit those who rely on Eddie the most—ensuring that we continue improving in ways that genuinely enhance their workflow.

As we learn more about our different user segments, we’ll continue refining our pricing tiers to align with the needs of both casual creators and professional video editors. But ultimately, introducing subscriptions has given us a much clearer sense of where to focus our efforts, making Eddie an even better tool for the storytellers who depend on it.

7. What success stories or metrics can you share about time saved or productivity gains from Eddie AI users?

We’re still in the early days of offering subscriptions for Eddie AI, but turning them on was a significant milestone for us—one we thought about carefully before making the decision. Our priority was ensuring that Eddie was delivering real value before introducing paid plans.

However, as we continued gathering user feedback, we reached a point where it became increasingly difficult to distinguish between casual users and those who saw Eddie as an essential part of their workflow. The biggest advantage of launching subscriptions has been clarity: we now know exactly who our most engaged users are and whose feedback should be prioritized.

Since rolling out subscriptions at the end of January, this shift has been incredibly valuable. It allows us to focus on building features that directly benefit those who rely on Eddie the most—ensuring that we continue improving in ways that genuinely enhance their workflow.

As we learn more about our different user segments, we’ll continue refining our pricing tiers to align with the needs of both casual creators and professional video editors. But ultimately, introducing subscriptions has given us a much clearer sense of where to focus our efforts, making Eddie an even better tool for the storytellers who depend on it.

8. How do you see AI-assisted video editing evolving over the next few years, and how is Eddie positioned for this future?

The next few years will bring a profound evolution in AI-assisted video editing, with personalization at the forefront. Eddie is poised to become more than just a smart tool—it will evolve into a truly intelligent assistant that understands and adapts to each user’s unique style, workflow, and creative preferences.

Imagine working with a human assistant. You wouldn’t need to repeatedly explain your preferred tone, style, or formatting choices for every project—they would simply learn over time. Eddie will function in much the same way. If you’re an individual creator, it will recognize your signature storytelling techniques. If you work with clients, Eddie will learn their preferences, ensuring that every edit aligns seamlessly with their brand and expectations.

This shift toward deeper personalization means that AI will move beyond generic automation and into true collaboration. Instead of just executing commands, Eddie will anticipate needs, streamline repetitive tasks, and allow creators to focus on what matters most: crafting compelling stories.

As AI technology advances, Eddie will continue to refine its role as a human-like assistant, seamlessly integrating into creative workflows and becoming an indispensable partner in the video editing process. The future of AI-powered editing isn’t just about speed—it’s about intelligence, intuition, and making the creative process more fluid and efficient than ever before.

9. What was the biggest technical challenge your team overcame while developing Eddie AI 2.0?

One of the most significant technical challenges we faced in developing Eddie AI 2.0 was adapting large language models (LLMs) to effectively tell stories over long durations and from massive amounts of source material. This is commonly known as the context window problem—LLMs aren’t inherently designed for video storytelling, especially when dealing with hours of raw interview footage.

For video professionals, the editing process requires sifting through an enormous amount of data to identify key soundbites, structure them into a compelling narrative, and ensure continuity throughout. However, traditional LLMs struggle with maintaining context over long-form content. They tend to lose track of earlier information, making it difficult to piece together a coherent and engaging story.

To solve this, we had to significantly refine and hack at LLMs to make them better suited for video editing. We developed ways for Eddie to process, retain, and reference vast amounts of footage without losing track of key moments—allowing it to find relevant soundbites, assemble them seamlessly, and maintain a strong narrative thread.

This was no small feat, but the breakthroughs we achieved are now fully realized in Eddie AI 2.0. The result? A smarter, more context-aware AI that empowers video professionals to focus on storytelling rather than sifting through footage. This is just the beginning, and we’re excited to continue pushing the boundaries of AI-assisted video editing.

10. For video creators considering Eddie AI, what's your advice on how to best integrate it into their existing workflow?

For video creators considering Eddie AI, there are several powerful ways to integrate it into their existing workflow, depending on the type of content they produce.

1. Story-Driven Editing with Rough Cut Mode

If you’re piecing together a story from multiple interviews, Eddie’s Rough Cut Mode is an essential tool. Simply import your interview footage, align with Eddie on a narrative framework, and it will help craft the story chapter by chapter—saving you hours of manual work while keeping the storytelling process collaborative and structured.

2. Multi-Camera Podcast Editing

For podcasters, especially those recording video on platforms like Riverside, Eddie streamlines the multi-camera editing process. It can automatically sync and assemble multiple video files, even if the audio tracks don’t overlap perfectly. Just import your raw files, and Eddie will generate a polished, multi-cam podcast edit that’s ready for final tweaks.

3. Social Media Clip Generation

If you need attention-grabbing clips for social media, Eddie’s Social Media Mode makes it effortless. You can ask Eddie to find and cut together engaging moments based on specific topics, or simply request the top 10 most punchy, shareable clips from your footage. Within seconds, Eddie will generate high-impact content, optimized for social media platforms.

All of these edits are fully exportable to industry-standard software like Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve, ensuring that Eddie enhances your workflow rather than replacing it.

By integrating Eddie AI, video creators can eliminate tedious editing tasks, focus on storytelling, and ultimately produce better content—faster.

11. What's your vision for the private community of video pros that comes with the Pro tier?

One of the biggest gaps I’ve personally felt in the industry is the lack of a true community for video professionals—one that goes beyond just discussing the latest gear. While there are scattered conversations happening on platforms like Reddit and Twitter, I’ve never found a space that truly speaks to the deeper aspects of video storytelling and production.

With the Eddie Pro Tier, we want to change that. Our vision is to build a private community where video professionals can connect over what really matters: the craft of storytelling and the business of video production. This isn’t just about technical specs—it’s about sharing insights on structuring narratives, navigating client relationships, and elevating the creative and professional aspects of video work.

By anchoring this community through Eddie, we hope to create a space where video pros can learn from each other, exchange ideas, and push the boundaries of storytelling together. This is the community I always wished existed, and now, we’re building it.

12. Beyond the features visible on your website, what "hidden gem" functionality in Eddie AI 2.0 are you most proud of?

When I think about the hidden gems in Eddie AI 2.0, I can’t help but chuckle—because one of the most exciting advancements isn’t something you’ll necessarily see at first glance. It’s the evolution of the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) in Rough Cut Mode.

In Eddie AI version 1, we relied heavily on a prompt-based system to guide users through the editing process. While prompts are still essential for capturing the nuance of each user’s request, version 2.0 takes things a step further. We’re introducing a more intuitive interface in RoughCut Mode, allowing users to jump quickly between sections or areas of the edit. This hands-on approach is not only faster than typing prompts, but it also brings out the true power of Eddie—creating a collaborative space where AI and the user can work in tandem to craft the perfect story.

This shift toward a more sophisticated UI/UX is just the beginning of our journey. It’s an exciting glimpse into the future of Eddie AI, where we aim to strike the perfect balance between the flexibility of prompts and the efficiency of an interface that empowers creators to work faster and smarter.

13. Where can people learn more about Eddie AI 2.0 and its latest PH launch?

Our landing page here.

Or just play with it here, using actual interview footage or the demos.

BTW, would love your support and feedback on our latest launch today. Link here.

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That’s a wrap for for this interview. Thanks for reading!