London-based AI creative studio Wonder Studios has raised $12 million in seed funding to scale production as it seeks to bring AI-generated content to the entertainment industry.
The round was led by Aomico, along with existing investors LocalGlobe and Blackbird, and builds on Wonder’s pre-seed investment, which includes executives from Eleven Labs, Google DeepMind, and OpenAI.
Wonder will use the new funding to double its engineering team and accelerate its efforts in IP ownership and original content production. The team recently collaborated with DeepMind, YouTube, and Universal Music Group to create an AI music video for Lewis Capaldi’s “Something in the Heavens.” Wonder also released his first original work, the “Beyond the Loop” anthology series.
Wonder is working on several commercial and original projects for release next year, including a documentary with Campfire Studios, the production company behind the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers” and “America’s Sweetheart: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.” Campfire CEO Ross Dinerstein is an investor in the startup.
The push for IP ownership comes amid a wave of lawsuits by Hollywood producers targeting AI companies for both training content-based models and producing output featuring copyrighted characters. For example, Disney and Universal Studios are suing Chinese company Minimax and AI image generation company Midjourney.
Wonder’s pay increase also comes as Netflix puts its “full focus” on generative AI as a way to make creative storytelling more efficient.
AI remains a divisive issue in the entertainment industry, with artists concerned that LLM-powered tools are often trained on their work without their consent and could threaten their livelihoods. OpenAI’s Sora 2 has been particularly criticized for copying actors’ likenesses without their notice or consent.
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Wonder positions itself as “Hollywood without Borders,” helping make AI storytelling tools available to all creators. The startup’s app will serve as a hub that connects a community of creators with career opportunities, collaborators, and resources, the company said.
“The next decade will define what creativity looks like in the age of AI,” said Justin Hackney, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Wonder Studio. “Our mission is to ensure that this future belongs to the storytellers. Working with major studios, industry pioneers, and grassroots filmmakers, we are already building bridges where technology and artistry grow together.”
Explanation: A previous headline incorrectly stated OpenAI’s involvement with Wonder Studios.
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