This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 13, 2025 - October 19, 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI)-native film studios are being built from the ground up, placing algorithms at the heart of filmmaking rather than merely complementing traditional processes. As a result, entire studios are now dedicated to producing films powered by generative AI (Gen AI) as their core engine.
At least 65 AI-centric film studios have launched globally since 2022, according to the AI x Media and Entertainment Industry Report: Studio Edition by market intelligence firm FBRC.ai.
The rise of these studios comes alongside rapid market growth for AI in film. The market is projected to expand from US$1.8 billion in 2024 to US$14.1 billion by 2033 at a compound annual growth rate of 25.7%, according to Market.US, a consulting and customised market research company.
This is being powered by tools such as DALL.E, MidJourney and Runway, which enable the creation of photorealistic images, videos and animation. Creative software companies such as Adobe are also rolling out AI-powered video tools to help creators and studios integrate generative content into their workflows.
With this, AI can be utilised in all stages of film production — from script development to casting, visual effects and post production — to cut costs, increase efficiency and open up new creative opportunities. Some examples of how AI can be used include creating virtual actors, producing films that adapt to audience preferences in real time, and planning and shooting entire productions.
Balancing the good with the bad
There are also ethical concerns. Companies risk using publicly available data to build AI models, and these tools may exploit performers’ identities — raising alarm over deepfakes and synthetic performances created without consent, according to the study AI and Actors: Ethical Challenges, Cultural Narratives, and Industry Pathways in Synthetic Media Performance.
AI models are often trained on copyrighted works without consent. OpenAI, Google and other tech companies face multiple lawsuits from writers, actors and news organisations that allege their work was stolen to train AI.
New tech is forecasted to shift jobs in physical production support, in areas such as lighting, set design and cameras, which will require a different mix of skills, according to Bain & Co. This means that creative communities will need training and must thoughtfully transition to use these tools effectively.
Here is a look at some of the AI-native films studios and what they aim to do:
Vision Machina
Vision Machina’s AI-generated short film for Ryt BankVision Machina is an AI cinematic production studio based in Southeast Asia that creates music videos, short films and brand advertisements, among others. The studio’s ethical AI manifesto states that it uses AI as a tool but will ensure that the ideas, emotions and artistry remain human. The studio also ensures every AI-generated work respects originality, diversity and truth.
It released a fully AI-generated short film for Ryt Bank in celebration of Merdeka Day 2025, powered by YTL AI Lab Sdn Bhd’s Ilmu, and Vision Machina’s proprietary neural production workflow.
Ilmu, which stands for Intelek Luhur Malaysia Untukmu (Malaysian intelligence created for Malaysians) is the country’s first fully homegrown LLM.
Primordial Soup
Ancestra was produced using Google DeepMind’s Gen AI modelsAcclaimed film director Darren Aronofsky, who is known for Academy Award-winning films such as Black Swan and The Whale, founded Primordial Soup to integrate Gen AI into storytelling in partnership with Google DeepMind’s AI research team.
The studio is working with three filmmakers to produce short films using new applications of Veo, Google DeepMind’s video-generation model. Under the partnership, Google DeepMind is providing early-stage access to Gen AI video tools while the filmmakers will provide feedback to the tech company on the new AI tools to help guide their development.
The first of Primordial Soup’s projects is Eliza McNitt’s Ancestra, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 13, 2025. It uses a mix of live-action performances and AI-based visuals.
DNEG Group
Metaphysics, a company acquired by DNEG, was behind the de-aging of the actors in HereDNEG Group — one of the UK’s largest movie technology companies — is expanding its business to produce movies and games, rather than just providing visual effects support. The company raised about US$200 million (RM842 million) from United Al Saqer Group, an Abu Dhabi investor backed by a member of the emirate’s royal family.
The company is also set to develop AI tools that will allow other content producers in film, TV, gaming and advertising to use advanced computer-generated imagery in their work. The tools will be able to produce photo-real content for a wide range of applications.
DNEG, which created the visual effects for movies such as Dune, Oppenheimer, Interstellar and Blade Runner 2049, has won eight Academy Awards. It is now working on Animal Friends alongside Legendary Entertainment, starring Ryan Reynolds, and The Angry Birds Movie 3. It is also producing an adaptation of the Indian epic, the Ramayana, for global audiences.
Animeta
A still from a film in the works at AnimetaSingapore-based tech company Animeta has launched an AI film studio, developed in partnership with Google Cloud’s start-up programme and powered by Vertex AI’s Veo3 video generation model. Animeta brings technical infrastructure in computer vision, video encoding, natural language processing and large language models (LLMs) to the venture.
The studio aims to enable brands to create promotional content that is high-quality and on-brand while being produced and scaled rapidly to meet the demands of a fast-paced digital landscape.
AI Film Company
Backstage Pass is an animated AI TV show that evolves liveThe AI Film Company builds structured story worlds. This means that the films are able to change their length, mood, characters or scenes depending on who is watching. The company is creating the AI-native intellectual property (IP) that makes these adaptable films possible.
According to its website, AI films are meant to be liquid, where the story can grow, shrink or change its style on the go, and scenes can expand for fans wanting more, or shorten for quick viewing.
These films are personalised — every viewer gets a unique version with changes to the characters, dialogue and settings while the story world is kept consistent. They are also interactive, allowing viewers to make choices, talk to characters, or even put themselves into the film.
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