Latest news with #visualEffects
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Netflix And Disney Quietly Use $545M-Backed Runway For AI Video — And It's Raising Big Questions In Hollywood
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has begun using generative AI video tools from startup Runway AI to accelerate production and reduce visual effects costs in original content, Bloomberg reports. According to Bloomberg, the New York-based startup has raised $545 million in funding and was most recently valued at over $3 billion. Runway's AI Video Tech Draws Netflix, Lionsgate, AMC, and Disney Into Its Orbit Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed that AI is now integrated into its content production workflow, helping to generate special effects more efficiently than traditional methods allow. On an earnings call on July 17, Sarandos cited speed and cost benefits of producing visual effects, including scenes in "El Eternaut," a new Argentinian drama on the platform. Don't Miss: Be part of the breakthrough that could replace plastic as we know it— $100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. While Runway's tools were not used for the 'El Eternaut' scenes, Bloomberg says that sources close to the matter confirmed Netflix is actively experimenting with the startup's software for ongoing projects. The growing interest in Runway's generative video technology isn't limited to Netflix, Bloomberg says. Lionsgate (NYSE:LION) has inked a deal with the company to train an AI model using its library of proprietary content for future film applications. Bloomberg reports that Disney (NYSE:DIS) has tested Runway's AI tools and held exploratory talks with the startup, although it has not committed to full-scale adoption, according to statements from Disney spokespeople. AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) is also collaborating with Runway AI to visualize upcoming shows and create marketing assets before filming begins, according to Runway AI. Trending: Accredited Investors: Grab Pre-IPO Shares of the AI Company Powering Hasbro, Sephora & MGM— "As we explore the transformative potential of AI across our business, we see powerful opportunities to enhance both how we market and how we create," Stephanie Mitchko, executive vice president of global media operations and technology at AMC Networks, said in a statement. AI VFX Tools Like Runway's Gen-4 and Act-Two Are Reshaping Studio Workflows Runway's latest release, an AI motion capture model named Act-Two, works with its Gen-4 system to map human movements onto animated characters with unprecedented precision and affordability. According to Bloomberg, traditional motion capture workflows can be costly and time-intensive, while Runway's tools offer near-instant results. The startup first gained traction in 2023 after launching a model capable of turning text prompts into short video clips, spurring widespread interest in the intersection of AI and filmmaking, Bloomberg says. Runway's generative video tools are already being deployed across multiple entertainment formats. According to Bloomberg, the software was used to generate scenes in Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) hit series 'House of David' and to create visuals for Madonna's concert tour and a commercial for also confirmed it struck a deal with Runway to train a proprietary AI model on the studio's intellectual property to reduce production costs and accelerate content development, Bloomberg reports. "The goal is you're making higher quality content for lower prices," Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns said at Runway's AI Film Festival in Santa Monica, California, in June. Generative AI Startups Face Competition, But Runway Leads Hollywood's Adoption Curve Runway is competing with giants like OpenAI and Google in the generative video space, but has more traction than most AI startups in Hollywood's production pipeline. According to Bloomberg, OpenAI's Sora product has yet to secure a formal partnership, despite months of talks with major studios including Disney. Runway's early traction highlights how AI is increasingly reshaping production strategies across the entertainment industry. Read Next: Can you guess how many retire with a $5,000,000 nest egg? . Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Netflix And Disney Quietly Use $545M-Backed Runway For AI Video — And It's Raising Big Questions In Hollywood originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Emotional Support Kangaroo' Video Goes Viral—But It's Completely Fake
The viral "emotional support kangaroo" posted by Infinite Unreality Infinite Unreality/Instagram You might have seen an unusual sight on your social media timeline lately—a clip of a woman trying to board a plane with her 'emotional support kangaroo,' arguing passionately with a stewardess. The clip ends with the camera zooming into the kangaroo's face, sparking questions. Who gave it an airplane ticket? Why isn't it eating the ticket? Are emotional support kangaroos a thing now? Of course, the video is fake—in fact, it's completely AI-generated. The kangaroo clip was originally posted on Instagram by a visual effects artist known as 'Infinite Unreality.' This account regularly posts surreal AI-generated videos, most of them featuring Infinite Unreality's logo, the infinity symbol, which can also be spotted in the kangaroo clip. If there is a niche for AI-generated art, perhaps it makes sense to lean into the uncanny and unsettling, as this plays to the strengths of the technology. In the case of the emotional support kangaroo, the video proved just weird enough to gain attention, but not weird enough to be immediately flagged as AI. After being posted on Instagram, the clip was reposted by DramaAlert to X (Twitter), where it was viewed more than 58 million times, according to X's metrics. Many internet users assumed the clip was real, and it's not hard to see why. After all, the internet is constantly collecting the weirdest moments of the real world, and people are especially weird when it comes to their pets. Several users turned the close-up of the cute, confused-looking kangaroo into a meme, seemingly without noticing that the animal was fully AI-generated. Without inspecting too closely, the video seems like just another strange crumb of content on the timeline. If one ignores the fact that the kangaroo is holding a little plane ticket, it's not a particularly uncanny clip. The fact that videos on X are automatically muted helped launch this particular clip into virality, as the sound quickly exposes the artifice—the two women in the clip are speaking in a nonsensical language. This appears to be intentional on the part of the video's creator, as today's video-generating tools are capable of generating decent audio that roughly matches the visual output. What's really striking about the AI-generated emotional support kangaroo is how easily it slips into the ambient noise of the internet, just another one of those silly stories we all constantly see on our timelines. Previously, I wrote about how Google's new video-generating tool, Veo 3, had attained photorealism, measured by the ability to generate a convincing clip of Will Smith eating spaghetti. It used to be fairly easy to spot AI-generated content, and if you look carefully, many of the clues are still there. The more Veo 3 clips one encounters, the easier it is to see the uncanny movements and oddities. Overall, however, the clues have greatly diminished, and in some of the clips, they just aren't there at all. A boundary has been crossed, and the ability to generate a short video clip that is indistinguishable from real footage is now possible. Just like how the viral, AI-generated Balenciaga Pope ushered in a new era of AI-generated imagery that now swamps the internet, the emotional support kangaroo is the first viral video created by AI. It's hard to predict where things go from here—issues such as disinformation, non-consensual pornography and scams are almost certainly going to get much worse—but there's no way to tell how social media will be altered by the ability to create convincing footage from nothing. The internet is surely going to become stranger, even more detached from reality than it already is—the emotional support kangaroo is just the beginning.
