Amazon MGM Studios launches AI fund, orders three animated series

Amazon MGM Studios Launches GenAI Creators’ Fund, Orders Three Animated Series for Prime Video

Amazon MGM Studios and Amazon Web Services on Wednesday announced the GenAI Creators’ Fund, a joint initiative providing filmmakers and digital creators with AI production tools and funding to develop scripted content for Prime Video. The fund’s first act: greenlighting three new animated series.

The announcements were made at the AI on the Lot conference at Culver Studios in Culver City, California, the fourth annual gathering for professionals working at the intersection of generative AI and media.linkedin

Three Series Get the Green Light

The fund’s inaugural slate includes Punky Duck from Jorge R. Gutierrez, the director behind The Book of Life; Love, Diana Music Hunters from pocket.watch, brought by former Nickelodeon president Albie Hecht; and Cupcake & Friends from BuzzFeed Studios. All three are destined for Prime Video, though premiere dates have not been set. Each project will retain human actors and voice performers.headliner

Early participants completed proof-of-concept pilots within a five-week window, demonstrating how directors can preview scenes before principal photography begins and refine ideas on set.headliner

Project Nara Powers the Pipeline

At the center of the initiative is Project Nara, described as Amazon MGM Studios’ purpose-built AI production platform for cinematic storytelling, built on AWS. The platform integrates third-party video models with Amazon’s own systems into a single workspace compatible with industry-standard tools such as Maya, Blender, Nuke, Unreal Engine, and Adobe software. Built-in provenance tracking is designed to protect intellectual property throughout the production process.imdb

Albert Cheng, vice president and head of AI Studios at Amazon MGM Studios, framed the platform as a response to creator frustration. “One of the biggest complaints we hear from creators is: AI doesn’t do what you want,” he said. “We’re turning those models into usable tools for the industry”.headliner

Cheng emphasized the human-centric philosophy behind the fund. “AI tools are meant to augment human creativity and enable TV series and films that weren’t previously possible,” he told Variety.variety

Amazon’s End-to-End Ambition

Samira Panah Bakhtiar, general manager of media and entertainment, games, and sports at AWS, pointed to Amazon’s unique positioning. “Amazon has quietly and methodically assembled the only end-to-end AI content-creation ecosystem in the industry, from infrastructure to creative tools to distribution and funding of creative content,” she said.headliner

The fund is open to creators from varied backgrounds and styles, offering grants for pilots and short films before the studio evaluates which projects advance to full series or feature production.headliner