Wonder, a self-described “AI-native creative studio”, has secured a $3m (£2.3m) pre-seed funding round to disrupt filmmaking.
Backed by executives from the AI industry, including ElevenLabs co-founder Mati Staniszewski and OpenAI’s head of startups Laura Modiano, Wonder claims it can use AI to create Hollywood level visual storytelling.
The generative AI startup said it can bring concepts to life faster and more efficiently than with traditional filmmaking methods.
“We’re at an inflection point in history where the power to craft and create visually striking stories is being rapidly democratised through technology,” said Xavier Collins, co-founder and CEO of Wonder.
“Storytelling should be about creativity, not overcoming financial and logistical barriers. We’re unearthing the next generation of talent and partnering with the traditional industry to unlock new avenues of creativity and empowering them to do more with less.”
The ability of generative AI models to produce high-quality videos has presented both a major opportunity and point of contention.
Many artists have argued against the practice of AI story-telling not only for the loss of human creativity but also for the tendency for AI companies to train their models on human-made work without permission, leading to AI-powered copyright infringement.
The legal status of creative work as part of an AI training set is so far ill-defined, with significant pressure on policymakers to clearly explain what is and isn’t allowed.
Earlier this year, more than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush and Damon Albarn, released a silent album as an act of protest against government plans to remove copyright protections for work for the purpose of AI training.
UKTN has contacted Wonder for more information on its training data policy.
The pre-seed round saw investments from LocalGlobe and Blackbird, as well as executives from DeepMind and Activision Blizzard among others.
“AI is fundamentally changing how film is produced, and Wonder is operating at the forefront of this shift,” said Ziv Reichert, partner at LocalGlobe.
“We believe they’re building what a 21st century studio should look like: capital-light, AI-first, and built to elevate creative talent rather than replace it. Their model empowers an entirely new generation to tell stories – ones that would otherwise never see the light of day.”
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