AI-Focused Wonder Studios, Backed By OpenAI & DeepMind Executives, Raises $12M Seed Funding

• Wonder Studios, a new production house backed by executives from OpenAI and Google DeepMind, raises $12 million in seed funding.
• The London-based studio combines traditional filmmaking with advanced AI.
• It plans to use the funds to double the company’s engineering team and original content production.

Wonder Studios, a production company heavily relying on AI tools and backed by OpenAI and Google DeepMind executives, said on Thursday it raised $12 million in a seed funding round from a clutch of investors.

The London-based studio, founded earlier this year, is tapping into the rising use of AI in entertainment, though widespread adoption remains uncertain amid ongoing creative and talent concerns. 

With AI tools becoming increasingly proficient in generating creatives like images, videos, and advertisements, investors and tech firms are backing studios that advance AI’s use in professional production. OpenAI recently funded the production of "Critterz," a yet-to-be-released animated film created largely with AI, while Andreessen Horowitz backed Promise, an upcoming studio that uses AI.

Wonder Studios says it combines traditional filmmaking with advanced technology to create original content across films and digital platforms, and plans to release some commercials and original content next year.

The funding will be used to double the company’s engineering team and accelerate a push into intellectual-property ownership and original content production, co-founder Xavier Collins told the Wall Street Journal.

“We’ve been able to kind of harness the power of AI and hopefully blend that with the craft of traditional storytelling and the traditional model,” Collins said in an interview with the publication.

The round was led by European venture capital firm Atomico, alongside existing investors including U.K.-based venture capital firm LocalGlobe and U.S. investment manager Blackbird.

Earlier, Adobe Ventures and tech executives from OpenAI and Google DeepMind invested pre-seed capital into the company. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for OpenAI, a privately owned firm, was ‘bearish’ as of the last reading.

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