AI and Hollywood find common ground

Top News

• Lionsgate teams up with Runway: A major studio has given an AI company its “content library in exchange for a new, custom AI model that the studio can use in the editing and production process,” the WSJ reports. Given the discord between media rights holders and AI companies, the Lionsgate-Runway tie-up is big news. As is the implied point that consumer media with AI elements is going to become the norm — and quickly.

• LinkedIn opts you into AI training: Collecting data for use in AI models is a race. The more quality and unique data that a tech company commands, the more unique — and potentially more valuable — their AI models can be. Hence, LinkedIn is making waves this week by opting users into its training data collection efforts. You can opt-out, but shouldn’t the opting go the other way around?

• Proptech isn’t dead: While the largest venture funds continue to raise huge sums, there’s concern that smaller VC firms will struggle to raise new capital. Not so with Era Ventures, which just closed an $88 million fund. Even more notably, Era Ventures is working on property-focused technology, or proptech. Proptech has seen its venture inflows slow in recent quarters, making Era stand out twice.

Runway Joins the TWiST500

The TWiST500 — now about 20% filled out — is probably a little top-heavy with AI startups. That’s partially because startups with an AI focus are heavy venture favorites today, and thanks to quick revenue growth at several, that is easily holding our attention.

To that end, I’m adding Runway to the TWiST500 today. Runway is a unicorn — Crunchbase lists its most recent round at $141 million, raised at a $1.4 billion pre-money valuation — in the AI space. The above-listed Lionsgate news boosts it from a very interesting startup to watch, to one that is landing its equivalent of enterprise-scale contracts. (Synthesia and HeyGen are working on AI-video projects as well.)

If the Lionsgate deal goes well, Runway could strike similar deals with other studios. Hollywood may be smaller than video games, but it’s still a huge market. If you consider current CGI budgets as Runway’s near-term TAM, it’s a tasty wager. So, onto the list it goes! — Alex

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This Week in Startups

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E2009: Jason and Alex kick off the show with highlights from the All-In Summit and discuss media criticism and the state of journalism. They delve into OpenAI's latest model, its corporate structure, and the implications for the AI landscape. They also cover autonomous vehicle technology, economic insights on Fed rate cuts, and innovations in food preparation. The show wraps up with a discussion on Mr. Beast's business culture and strategies for large companies to maintain focus on their goals.

E2008: This episode throws it back to the Liquidity Summit. Meghan Reynolds presented a talk on "Relationship Advice: Of the LP / GP Sort," covering key topics in investor relations and fundraising strategies. She discussed the complexities of raising capital, rationalizing fund sizes, securing re-ups, and highlighted common pitching mistakes. Meghan also touched on market sentiment, single deal SPV dynamics, VC allocations, private credit, and overall market dynamics.

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