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Promise, a generative AI studio led by three notable tech and industry figures, has launched with backing from Peter Chernin‘s The North Road Company and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
The startup intends to make films and series as well as exploring new formats. The company said in a launch announcement that it is “actively engaging with leading Gen AI artists, Hollywood talent, and rights-holders to develop a multi-year lineup of category-defining films and series.”
Promise’s founders are George Strompolos, former CEO of Fullscreen (a streaming video outfit also backed by Chernin); former YouTube content executive Jamie Byrne; and Dave Clark, a recognized specialist in generative AI.
The launch announcement comes at the end of an eventful year of AI ventures across Hollywood. After regarding the technology with suspicion in 2023, with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA both making the issue a central part of their negotiations with the AMPTP, several players have started to ramp up in a bid to be proactive. Disney recently formed an entire corporate department dedicated to AI initiatives and Lionsgate announced an agreement with AI firm Runway.
“We are investing in a new class of Gen AI talent who blend traditional filmmaking chops with cutting-edge technical expertise, setting a new standard for high-quality storytelling enabled by AI,” said Strompolos, who will be Promise’s CEO. “We believe this is a transformational moment in entertainment and a studio must be built from the ground up — around the artists, the tech, and a new workflow — in order to unlock its full potential.”
Strompolos and Byrne both worked at YouTube as it became the dominant hub for creators. Clark is an independent filmmaker whose signature has become Gen AI. Along with his films and speaking engagement at various film festivals, Clark has also made creative materials for several companies and worked with actors/activists like Michael Ealy, George Clooney and Michael K. Williams.
“There is something undeniably exciting about Generative AI, and we are bullish on George and Promise’s ability to empower storytellers,” Chernin said. “This team understands that prioritizing artists and creatives is the only approach as we begin to apply Generative AI into the creative process, and Promise has the most inventive and user-friendly model we have seen.”
Byrne, who will be President and COO of Promise, said the company’s aim is “championing Gen AI artists and forming partnerships with a broad range of rights-holders to bring their stories to life. Our productions will also see us working with members of the creative community – from writers and directors, to actors, visual effects artists, and more – tailored to each project’s unique vision.”
Clark added that a primary goal of Promise is “to cultivate a space where storytellers from all backgrounds can explore bold ideas, take risks, and push the boundaries of storytelling.”
Promise is developing a software product called MUSE, a production workflow it bills as the first of its kind. It integrates the latest Gen AI technology throughout the creative process in a streamlined, collaborative, and secure production environment, enabling artists to bring the highest quality work to the screen.
