5 Real Explainer Video Case Studies: From Multimillion-Dollar Funding to Billion-Dollar Valuations

Most video production companies look at views, shares, and engagement. But while these metrics can tell you how many people watched a video, they don't necessarily tell you whether it achieved what the company actually needed.

After all, an explainer video is a short video designed to communicate a product, service, or idea. But who is it explaining it to? And more importantly, what is the business trying to accomplish?

Is the goal to help potential investors understand a complex business model? Introduce a new product to the market? Build trust with enterprise customers? Or communicate a company's value during a critical growth stage?

In this article, we'll explore five real explainer video case studies from Yum Yum Videos, an explainer video production company, looking beyond traditional video metrics to understand the business objectives behind each project.

1. MedVector: Three Whiteboard Videos and $3.5 Million in Funding

MedVector is a healthcare startup that helps patients participate in clinical trials through their local doctors, using telemedicine to connect them with researchers.

Between 2018 and 2021, MedVector partnered with Yum Yum Videos to produce three whiteboard explainer videos, which it used to present its business model to potential investors through platforms such as StartEngine.

The first video introduced the concept in simple terms, while the other two explained different parts of the process in more detail.

The Results

MedVector raised $3.5 million in total funding, and its CEO, Scott Stout, acknowledged the videos' contribution:

"Their ability to understand complex topics and visualize them was amazing. We’ve raised $3.5m with a lot of help from Yum Yum Videos!"

Why Whiteboard Animation?

Whiteboard explainer videos work particularly well for healthcare because they introduce information step by step, making complex processes easier to follow.

In MedVector's case, the challenges of recruiting patients for clinical trials were represented as a board game, with paths that split and become increasingly complicated, illustrating how the process of getting a drug approved can take up to 10 years.

Other visual metaphors added a touch of humor, like a clock running on a treadmill to represent the race to find a cure for cancer and the valuable time being lost along the way.

These creative choices made a complicated medical process easier to understand and more enjoyable to watch, without losing sight of the serious issues behind it.

2. Accelerant: Nine Explainer Videos, $340 Million in Funding, and a $6.4 Billion IPO Valuation

How do you explain a complex insurance business to investors, insurance brokers, and partners around the world, especially when that business is growing so quickly?

Between 2021 and 2024, Accelerant worked with Yum Yum Videos on nine animated explainer videos, each designed to address a different communication need as the business expanded.

Instead of trying to fit everything into a single video, Accelerant chose to develop a series. Some videos introduced Accelerant's business model, while others explained specific services, industry challenges, or opportunities for different audiences.

The Results

During that period, Accelerant raised over $340 million in private funding. In 2025, the company took another major step, going public on the New York Stock Exchange, raising approximately $724 million in its IPO and reaching a $6.4 billion valuation on its first trading day.

Why 2D Character Animation and Motion Graphics?

Motion graphic explainer videos are ideal for explaining things you can't easily see, like data, risk, and complex financial relationships.

But insurance isn't just about numbers. Behind every policy, decision, and transaction, there are real people.

That's why the videos combined motion graphics with character animation. The graphics helped explain how the business worked, while the characters brought a more human side to the story.

All nine videos shared a consistent visual identity, using Accelerant's blue, cyan, and magenta palette, clean backgrounds, and a professional but approachable tone.

3. Sintavia: A 3D Explainer Video and a Major U.S. Defense Contract

We've talked about how to explain complex services and platforms. But what about complex physical products? And what's more complicated than advanced metal 3D printing for the aerospace and defense industries?

That was Sintavia's challenge: showing the value of its technology and explaining a highly sophisticated manufacturing process.

In 2023, the company produced a 3D animated video to show how its technology works, helping customers, industry partners, and government organizations better understand its capabilities.

Shortly after the video was released, Christina Kurth from Sintavia shared it on LinkedIn with a message that says it all:

"So what do you say you do? The answer to that question just got a lot easier!"

The Results

Sintavia continued using the video as it expanded its business.

In 2024, Sintavia was awarded a contract as part of the U.S. Department of Defense's GAMMA-H program, a $106.7 million initiative focused on advanced manufacturing for hypersonic propulsion components.

The video was also featured in industry publications that cover Sintavia's technology, helping to explain its manufacturing process to a wider audience.

Why 3D Animation?

You don't have to be a genius to figure this one out. A company working with industrial 3D printing needed a 3D video.

3D animation made it possible to explore the manufacturing process from the inside, show machinery and components from different angles, and explain technical details that would be difficult to capture with a camera.

Realistic models, controlled camera movements, and a clean industrial look helped present the technology in a way that was both visually interesting and technically clear.

4. Chargebee: Three Explainer Videos, $470 Million in Funding, and a $3.5 Billion Valuation

How do you make subscription billing interesting? It's not exactly the most exciting topic, especially when you're talking about invoices, payment automation, and revenue management.

Chargebee developed three animated explainer videos to make its platform easier to understand. Rather than walking viewers through a long list of features, the videos used creative visual metaphors to illustrate common business frustrations: people tied together by their computer cables, or a leaking system that eventually floods the entire workplace.

These exaggerated situations represented the everyday problems Chargebee's platform was designed to solve.

The Results

The videos accompanied a period of significant growth for Chargebee. The company raised $55 million in 2020, followed by $125 million in 2021, reaching a $1.4 billion valuation.

In 2022, Chargebee secured another $250 million, bringing its total funding to approximately $470 million and its valuation to $3.5 billion.

Why 2D Character Animation and Motion Graphics?

Billing software isn't exactly exciting to look at. But the problems it solves are very real.

Character animation made it possible to show those frustrations through relatable situations and a little humor, while motion graphics helped explain the technical side, including numbers, processes, and abstract concepts.

Together, the characters and graphics helped explain Chargebee's software without getting too technical.

5. BetterUp: Two Explainer Videos, $300 Million in Funding, and a $4.7 Billion Valuation

BetterUp helps companies improve employee performance through personalized coaching, behavioral science, and technology. But explaining how coaching works, and why businesses should invest in it, isn't always easy.

Between 2020 and 2022, BetterUp developed two explainer videos with different goals. The first introduced the platform to new members, helping them understand how the coaching experience worked. The second focused on sales performance, showing enterprise clients how coaching could support their teams.

BetterUp had to explain something less tangible than software features: what employees and companies actually gain from coaching.

The Results

In 2021, BetterUp raised $125 million in Series D funding, reaching a $1.73 billion valuation.

Later that year, BetterUp secured another $300 million in Series E funding, bringing its valuation to $4.7 billion. The company also surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, while its customer base grew by more than 80% during the reported period.

Why Mixed Media and Motion Graphics?

Coaching is about people, so the videos needed to feel personal rather than purely technical.

Mixed media allowed the videos to combine live action and human-centered imagery with animated elements, while motion graphics helped explain the platform, its processes, and the more abstract benefits of coaching.

What Can We Learn From These Five Explainer Video Case Studies?

The funding rounds, billion-dollar valuations, and IPOs we've covered are the achievements of these companies, not their explainer videos.

But good communication matters. Explainer videos have been helping businesses explain complex ideas for more than 15 years, and that's particularly valuable in B2B, where decisions can involve millions of dollars in investments, acquisitions, and major business deals.

1. One Explainer Video Isn't Always Enough

Most of the companies featured here didn't stop at one video.

The explainer video cost can be high, especially for a custom production. But for companies preparing to raise funding or expand into new markets, it's an investment worth considering.

Rather than trying to fit everything into one video, these companies used multiple videos to support their communication needs at different stages of growth.

2. Choose the Animation Style Based on Your Goals

Not every animation style works equally well for every project.

If your message needs a human connection, character animation or live action may be the right choice. Motion graphics work particularly well for abstract concepts, data, and processes. And when you're explaining a physical product or complex machinery, 3D animation can show details that would be difficult to capture otherwise.

The important thing is to choose a style that fits what you're trying to communicate, not simply the one you like most.

3. Keep Your Videos Short and Focused

Most explainer videos work best at around 90 seconds, although some subjects may need two minutes or a little more.

But trying to explain everything in a five- or ten-minute video can easily overwhelm viewers, especially when they're unfamiliar with your product.

The examples in this article show another approach: create shorter videos, each with a clear purpose and audience.

How to Manage Successful Explainer Video Projects

Millions of dollars in funding, billion-dollar valuations, and even an IPO. These are some of the milestones reached by the five companies featured in this article.

Of course, these achievements belong to the companies themselves. But their explainer videos helped them communicate complex advanced manufacturing technologies, healthcare services, and insurtech business models during important stages of growth.

Looking at these projects, we can see why each company chose a particular animation style, why some needed several videos instead of just one, and how different creative approaches helped them explain their ideas.

And perhaps that's the most important lesson: an explainer video doesn't need to go viral or get thousands of likes and shares to be successful. What matters is being able to communicate a company's message and value proposition when it matters most, whether that's to potential customers, investors, or business partners.

About the Author

Victor Blasco Founder & CEO at Yum Yum Videos

Víctor Blasco is the founder and CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. He is also an audiovisual designer and video marketing expert.Aside from running the business, he loves studying Chinese philosophy and is a real geek for science fiction films and comics! The force is strong with this one.

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