5 Best AI Video Upscaler Tools in 2026

Old videos don’t always hold up on modern screens. Low resolution becomes more obvious on phones, laptops and large displays. Faces look soft. Text becomes hard to read. Details fade away.

AI video upscaler tools solve this problem. They rebuild missing detail and increase resolution without requiring a reshoot. The GOAL is simple: take low-quality footage and make it look closer to HD or even 4K.

This guide covers some of BEST AI video upscalers available today, along with where each one fits best.

What an AI Video Upscaler Actually Does

A video upscaler does more than stretch an image. Traditional scaling just enlarges pixels. That often leads to blur and noise. AI tools work differently. They study patterns in each frame. Then they reconstruct missing information. This improves clarity instead of just increasing size.

Most tools focus on:

• Resolution improvement
• Edge sharpening
• Noise reduction
• Detail reconstruction

The result depends on the original video. Clearer input always gives better output.

Quick Comparison of AI Video Upscalers

Tool	Best For	Upscaling Quality	Ease of Use	Platform
Vmake	Fast AI upscaling	High	Very easy	Web + Mobile
Runway	Creative video workflows	High	Medium	Web
HitPaw Video Enhancer	Old footage restoration	High	Easy	Desktop
AVCLabs Video Enhancer	Detailed control	High	Medium	Desktop
Zawa AI	Quick online fixes	Medium	Very easy	Web

1. Vmake AI Video Upscaler

Vmake is built for fast, simple video enhancement. It focuses on improving quality without requiring editing skills. Users can upload a clip and upscale it in a few steps.

Key Features

• AI-based resolution upscaling
• Automatic detail enhancement
• Noise reduction and sharpening
• Support for social media formats
• Quick export in HD quality

Pros

• Very simple workflow
• Fast processing time
• Good results for social content
• No technical setup needed

Cons

• Less manual control over output

Vmake stands out for speed. Other tools often require setup or installation. Vmake runs in a browser and gets straight to the point. That makes it useful for creators who need quick results for ads, product videos, or social posts.

2. Runway AI

Runway is known for creative video tools. It also includes strong upscaling features. It is often used in production environments where editing and AI tools work together.

Features

• AI video enhancement
• Frame interpolation
• Creative editing tools
• Cloud-based processing

Pros

• Strong quality output
• Good for creative projects
• Works inside a larger editing system

Cons

• Slight learning curve
• Not focused only on upscaling

Runway gives more control than Vmake, but it also adds complexity. Users who only want quick upscaling may find it heavier than needed. Vmake stays more direct, especially for simple quality improvement tasks.

3. HitPaw Video Enhancer

HitPaw focuses on restoring old videos. It is often used for personal footage, archived clips, or low-resolution recordings.

Features

• AI-powered upscaling models
• Face enhancement tools
• Batch processing
• Multiple enhancement modes

Pros

• Good for old videos
• Stable output quality
• Easy interface

Cons

• Desktop-only
• Slower processing on large files

HitPaw works well for restoration projects. However, it requires installation and system resources. Vmake avoids this step by running directly in the browser, which makes it more flexible for quick use.

4. AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI

AVCLabs is designed for users who want more control over the upscaling process. It includes several AI models for different types of footage.

Features

• Multiple AI enhancement models
• 4K upscaling support
• Frame-by-frame processing
• Color and detail adjustment tools

Pros

• High-quality output
• Good for advanced users
• Strong restoration features. 

Cons

• Requires installation
• Takes time to learn

AVCLabs is powerful, but it is more technical. It fits users who want detailed control. Vmake takes the opposite approach. It removes most settings and focuses on quick results.

5. Zawa Video Upscaler

Zawa AI offers a simple online video upscaling tool. It is often used for quick fixes or small projects.

Features

• Online AI upscaling
• Basic enhancement tools
• Simple upload and export process

NetApp and Cisco Collaboration Strengthens Defense-in-Depth for Enterprise Cyber Resilience

• New NetApp Splunk SOAR playbook helps contain ransomware attacks and limit data loss

NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, and Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced an expansion of their collaboration to help customers strengthen defense-in-depth strategies for customers. Combining Intelligent Data Infrastructure with advanced analytics and observability capabilities, NetApp and Splunk have delivered deep, real-time visibility into storage and infrastructure health. Together, they are helping customers turn operational data into actionable insights that improve reliability, security, and business outcomes. By expanding their collaboration with the new NetApp Splunk Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) playbook, NetApp and Splunk are helping joint customers contain ransomware attacks and limit data loss at the storage layer, enhancing the containment of the blast radius of cyberattacks while increasing the speed and reducing the cost of recovery.

“With AI accelerating both the speed and sophistication of cyberattacks, the window to respond has never been smaller,” said Sandeep Singh, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Platform at NetApp. “To limit the cost and impact of ransomware, organizations must act the moment a threat is detected, which means extending security automation into the storage layer where data lives. As the company delivering the most secure storage on the planet, NetApp is uniquely positioned to make storage an active part of a defense-in-depth strategy. By working with Cisco to enable Splunk SOAR workflows to take direct action on data stored in NetApp ONTAP®, we’re helping make a defense-in-depth security strategy simpler and more effective.”

To give customers the resiliency and flexibility they need to protect their data, Cisco and NetApp are releasing the NetApp Splunk SOAR playbook. Splunk Enterprise Security is already integrated with NetApp Ransomware Resilience to collect analytics from the data layer, enhancing incident triage and prioritization. With the new playbook, Splunk SOAR users can now use those signals as well as signals from other solutions to automatically take incident response actions directly on NetApp ONTAP storage as an integral part of their incident response. These actions include blocking a suspicious user, taking snapshots of the data and taking data volumes offline to protect against further infection. As a result, customers will be better able to contain ransomware attacks and limit data loss at the storage layer. Utilized as part of the organization’s defense in depth security strategy, the NetApp Splunk SOAR playbooks help to strengthen collaboration between security and storage teams.

Automating the response and recovery actions against cyber threats with the NetApp Splunk SOAR playbook improves security team metrics like mean time to contain (MTTC) and reduces the manual effort and skills required to protect data. As a result, NetApp and Cisco are making it faster and more efficient for enterprises to achieve cyber resilience.

“Effective security strategies require visibility and action across the entire technology stack, including the data layer,” said David Dalling, GVP, Splunk Security at Cisco. “With the new NetApp Splunk SOAR playbook, ONTAP storage becomes an active participant in the security ecosystem, enabling organizations to contain threats directly targeting enterprise data. By connecting NetApp storage into Splunk SOAR workflows, we’re helping security and storage teams collaborate more seamlessly and respond to incidents with greater speed and confidence.”

“The partnership between Splunk and NetApp helps customers run their businesses more securely and effectively, connecting operations across storage and security teams,” said Dallas Olson, Chief Commercial Officer at NetApp. “By giving customers real-time visibility into what’s happening across their environments, NetApp and Splunk enable enterprises to reduce disruption and optimize performance so they can use their data to drive measurable business outcomes.”

The NetApp Splunk SOAR playbook is now available to download from SplunkBase.

Additional Resources Cyber Resilience: The Most Secure Storage on the Planet
Ransomware Resilience: Ransomware Protection Using AI-Based Detection

About NetApp

For more than three decades, NetApp has helped the world’s leading organizations navigate change – from the rise of enterprise storage to the intelligent era defined by data and AI. Today, NetApp is the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, helping customers turn data into a catalyst for innovation, resilience, and growth.

At the heart of that infrastructure is the NetApp data platform – the unified, enterprise-grade, intelligent foundation that connects, protects, and activates data across every cloud, workload, and environment. Built on the proven power of NetApp ONTAP, our leading data management software and OS, and enhanced by automation through the AI Data Engine and AFX, it delivers observability, resilience, and intelligence at scale

Disaggregated by design, the NetApp data platform separates storage, services, and control so enterprises can modernize faster, scale efficiently, and innovate without lock-in. As the only enterprise storage platform natively embedded in the world’s largest clouds, it gives organizations the freedom to run any workload anywhere with consistent performance, governance, and protection.

With NetApp, data is always ready – ready to defend against threats, ready to power AI, and ready to drive the next breakthrough. That’s why the world’s most forward-thinking enterprises trust NetApp to turn intelligence into advantage.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that is revolutionizing the way organizations connect and protect in the AI era. For more than 40 years, Cisco has securely connected the world. With its industry leading AI-powered solutions and services, Cisco enables its customers, partners and communities to unlock innovation, enhance productivity and strengthen digital resilience. With purpose at its core, Cisco remains committed to creating a more connected and inclusive future for all. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on X at @Cisco.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at http://www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word ‘partner’ does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

Physical AI Pioneer Niqo Robotics Turns Profitable in Year One

• Strong cumulative revenue traction and a path to profitability position Niqo among a new generation of globally competitive Indian deep-tech companies

Niqo Robotics, a Physical AI company building intelligent agricultural robots for global farms, today announced that its core AI enabled weeding business is on track to achieve profitability in its first full year of commercial operations. The company has also built strong cumulative revenue traction, positioning it among the few Indian agricultural robotics companies to demonstrate meaningful commercial scale in this sector. At a time when many global agri-robotics players continue to prioritise scale over sustainable economics, Niqo is charting a different path, one built on capital efficiency, farmer ROI, and commercially viable deployment from the outset.
A rare profitability milestone in agri-robotics/deeptech

As agricultural robotics companies worldwide work to translate innovation into commercially viable businesses, Niqo Robotics’ core AI enabled weeding business is now approaching self-sustainability. The company attributes this to growing commercial traction, repeat demand, and a model built around disciplined economics rather than scale at any cost.

Niqo’s farmer-first model is built around a one-time purchase, with no recurring subscription fees, backed by 24/7 service support and locally stocked spare parts. This allows growers to adopt advanced automation without the burden of hidden costs or ongoing platform charges.

“We built Niqo to prove that Physical AI can be a real business, not just impressive technology that burns cash indefinitely,” said Jaisimha Rao, Founder and CEO of Niqo Robotics. “Our path to profitability is not about cutting corners. It is the result of building a product that delivers real ROI to growers from day one. No subscriptions, no hidden costs, just a machine that pays for itself.”

Made in Bharat, Made for the World

Niqo’s growth story also reflects a larger shift in Indian deep-tech: from research-led prototypes to commercially viable products competing in global markets. While India has seen decades of experimentation in farm automation, Niqo is among the first companies to commercialise and scale AI-powered field robots that are both designed in India and deployed in demanding agricultural environments across international markets.

This strengthens the narrative of India building globally relevant deep-tech products in frontier sectors. Niqo’s systems are built in India and are now being deployed across farms in the United States and India, signalling that agricultural robotics developed in Bharat can solve for productivity, labour, and sustainability challenges well beyond the domestic market.
An intelligent farming platform, not just a single machine

At the core of Niqo’s next phase of growth is Niqo Sense, the company’s proprietary AI camera platform that can be integrated across multiple machine form factors and retrofitted onto existing farm equipment. This platform combines AI at the edge with a dual-tank, twin-nozzle architecture to perform weeding, thinning, and beneficial spraying in a single pass, reducing the need for multiple machines and repeated field operations.

The system processes thousands of plant-level decisions per second in real time, entirely on the edge and with zero cloud dependency. It delivers more than 99% accuracy even in dense and challenging field conditions. This Physical AI approach, where intelligent software is tightly integrated with purpose-built hardware for real-world use, positions it at the forefront of a category attracting increasing investor and customer attention globally.
A broader signal for Indian agri-innovation

Niqo’s progress marks more than a company milestone. It points to a structural shift in Indian agri-innovation, where the focus is moving from pilots and proof-of-concept demonstrations to scalable, revenue-generating climate-tech businesses.

By helping growers reduce input costs, improve precision, lower chemical usage, and maintain soil health without displacing farm labour, Niqo is positioning robotics not as a futuristic concept, but as a practical and profitable tool for agriculture. The company plans to build on this foundation by expanding into new crops and additional applications through its broader Physical AI platform.

About Niqo Robotics

Niqo Robotics is a Physical AI company building intelligent agricultural robots for sustainable farming worldwide. Founded by Jaisimha Rao, a Carnegie Mellon-trained engineer and former BlackRock professional, Niqo develops AI-powered weeding, thinning, and precision spraying systems that help growers reduce costs, cut chemical usage, and address labour challenges in farming.

Powered by Niqo Sense, its proprietary AI camera platform, Niqo’s products are commercially deployed across the United States and India. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru, with U.S. operations in Dover, Delaware, and dealer networks across California and Arizona. Niqo is a Series B company backed by investments from Fulcrum Global Capital, Omnivore, Bidra Innovation Ventures, Blume Ventures, BEENEXT, and FMC Corporation.

India Launches VYOMA Challenge to Drive Multilingual Edge AI Innovation

India has launched the VYOMA Innovation Challenge to accelerate multilingual, voice‑first AI solutions that work offline, aiming to strengthen digital inclusion across diverse languages and regions. The initiative offers prizes worth up to ₹80 lakh and deployment opportunities with government departments.

The challenge has been launched by the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under the Digital India Corporation (DIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with Current AI and Kalpa Impact.

The challenge builds on Sunno Sutra, a multilingual, voice-first, open-source handheld AI reference device jointly developed by BHASHINI and Current AI and unveiled at the IndiaAI Impact Summit 2026. Designed as a reference platform, Sunno Sutra combines multilingual language technologies with on-device AI capabilities, enabling conversational AI experiences across Indian languages without dependence on cloud infrastructure.

Launch of VYOMA Innovation Challenge

• Organizers: Digital India BHASHINI Division (MeitY), in collaboration with Current AI and Kalpa Impact.
• Objective: Promote open‑source, multilingual, voice‑first AI that functions in low‑connectivity or offline environments.
• Foundation: Builds on Sunno Sutra, a handheld multilingual AI device unveiled at the IndiaAI Impact Summit 2026.

Key Features

• Multilingual AI Infrastructure: Supports 36 Indian text languages, 23 voice languages, and 35 international languages.
• Offline Capability: Delivers conversational AI without cloud dependency, ensuring accessibility in rural and remote areas.
• Public Impact: Functions as digital public infrastructure, enabling inclusive access to services across India’s linguistic diversity.

Participation & Incentives

• Who Can Apply: Startups, MSMEs, researchers, students, academic institutions, and independent innovators.
• Support:
  • 20 shortlisted teams will receive developer kits and mentorship.
  • Finalists will present prototypes to an expert jury.
• Rewards: Winning teams eligible for ₹80 lakh in prizes and deployment opportunities with central and state governments.

Potential Applications

• Education: AI‑driven multilingual learning tools for schools in rural India.
• Healthcare: Voice‑enabled diagnostic and advisory systems in local languages.
• Agriculture: Offline AI assistants for farmers, offering crop and weather guidance.
• Governance: Citizen‑centric services accessible in native languages.

Strategic Impact

Focus Area	Benefit	Global Relevance
Digital Inclusion	Expands access to AI in low‑resource settings	Model for emerging economies
Multilingual AI	Supports 36 Indian + 35 global languages	Strengthens cross‑border collaboration
Offline AI	Works without internet/cloud	Critical for rural connectivity gaps
Open Source	Encourages innovation ecosystem	Aligns with global open‑tech movement

Challenges

• Hardware Optimization: Devices must be smaller, more efficient, and field‑ready.
• Scalability: Ensuring solutions can handle millions of users daily.
• Collaboration: Requires strong partnerships between startups, academia, and government.

Global Positioning

• India’s VYOMA Challenge positions the country as a leader in multilingual, offline AI innovation.
• Provides a blueprint for inclusive digital ecosystems worldwide.
• Reflects India’s ambition to make AI a public‑impact infrastructure, not just a commercial technology.

Rolls-Royce Powers India’s Next Leap with MRO, Jet Engines, and Nuclear Ambitions

Rolls-Royce is preparing a major expansion in India with plans to establish a local Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for civil aviation engines and a full aero gas turbine complex with complete technology transfer for indigenous military jet engines, including the AMCA program. The company is also exploring small modular reactors (SMRs) for India’s civil nuclear sector, potentially investing billions and creating over 10,000 jobs.

Civil Aviation MRO Facility

• Current Status: Indian aircraft engines are serviced in Singapore and Hong Kong.
• Future Plan: Rolls-Royce will set up a domestic MRO hub to support India’s growing fleet.
• Drivers:
  • Air India & IndiGo have ordered 100+ Airbus A350s, powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce engines.
  • Over 220 engines and spares expected in India in the next few years.

Aero Gas Turbine Complex

• Scope: Indigenous development of military jet engines, starting with the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
• Technology Transfer: Rolls-Royce has offered complete IP transfer, ensuring Indian sovereignty over engine design.
• Timeline:
  • Ground trials: Targeted by 2032
  • First flight: Expected by 2034
• Expansion: Facility may later support dual-use engines for civil aviation.

Nuclear Energy – Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)

• Policy Context: Enabled by India’s Shanti Act 2025, which ended public sector monopoly in nuclear energy.
• Rolls-Royce Interest: Exploring deployment of SMRs for clean, scalable civil nuclear power.

Strategic Impact

Initiative	Focus Area	Timeline/Scale	Impact
Civil MRO	Aircraft engine servicing	Within next few years	Reduces reliance on overseas hubs
Gas Turbine Complex	Military jet engines (AMCA)	Trials by 2032, flight by 2034	Indigenous propulsion capability
SMRs	Civil nuclear energy	Post-2025	Clean energy, billions in investment

Risks & Challenges

• Capital Intensive: Requires sustained R&D and infrastructure investment.
• Global Competition: Competing with established aerospace giants in US/EU.
• Supply Chain Dependence: India must strengthen domestic ecosystem to reduce reliance on imported sub-systems.

Strategic Positioning

• Rolls-Royce sees India as its fourth “home market” after UK, US, and Germany.
• Longstanding partnerships with HAL and Force Motors already anchor its presence.
• Potential to employ 10,000+ people and invest billions of dollars in India’s aerospace and energy sectors.