London-based AI creative studio Wonder Studios has raised twelve million dollars in seed funding. This investment will help scale production as the company works to integrate AI-generated content into the entertainment industry. The funding round was led by Atomico, with participation from existing investors LocalGlobe and Blackbird. This builds on an earlier pre-seed investment that included executives from ElevenLabs, Google DeepMind, and OpenAI.
Wonder plans to use the new capital to double the size of its engineering team. The funds will also accelerate the company’s push into intellectual property ownership and original content production. The team recently produced an AI music video for Lewis Capaldi’s song ‘Something in the Heavens’. This project was created in collaboration with DeepMind, YouTube, and Universal Music Group. Wonder also released its first original production, an anthology series called “Beyond the Loop”.
The studio is currently working on several commercial and original projects scheduled for release next year. One upcoming project is a documentary produced with Campfire Studios, the company behind Netflix documentaries “The Menendez Brothers” and “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders”. Campfire’s CEO, Ross Dinerstein, is also an investor in Wonder Studios.
This drive for IP ownership is happening as Hollywood producers initiate legal actions against AI companies. These lawsuits concern both the training of AI models on copyrighted content and the generation of outputs that feature copyrighted characters. For example, Disney and Universal Studios have sued the Chinese company MiniMax, as well as the AI image generator Midjourney.
Wonder’s fundraising coincides with Netflix reportedly going all in on generative AI. The streaming service sees AI as a tool to make creatives more efficient at storytelling. However, AI remains a divisive issue within the entertainment industry. Many artists are concerned that tools powered by large language models, which are often trained on their work without consent, could threaten their livelihoods. OpenAI’s Sora 2 has faced particular criticism for reproducing actors’ likenesses without notice or permission.
Wonder Studios describes itself as “Hollywood without borders,” with a goal of making AI storytelling tools accessible to all creators. The company’s app serves as a hub that connects its community of creators with career opportunities, collaborators, and resources.
The next decade will define what creativity looks like in the age of AI, according to Justin Hackney, chief commercial officer and co-founder of Wonder Studios. He stated that the company’s mission is to ensure that this future belongs to the storytellers. Hackney explained that by working with leading studios, industry pioneers, and grassroots filmmakers, Wonder is creating a bridge where technology and artistry can grow together.