Studio

Verified 4 November 2026

Promise

A Los Angeles entertainment studio built for the generative AI era, making films and series and new storytelling formats with artists working in AI-assisted pipelines.

Promise launched on 19 November 2024 under CEO George Strompolos (previously CEO of the YouTube network Fullscreen), president and COO Jamie Byrne (a former YouTube content executive) and chief creative officer Dave Clark (an independent filmmaker). Its first backing came from a round led by Peter Chernin's The North Road Company and Andrew Chen of Andreessen Horowitz, and its pitch is a redesigned production process around its own software, MUSE, a studio operating system that applies generative AI across the production pipeline.

In May 2025 it added investment from Google's AI Futures Fund, Michael Ovitz's Crossbeam Venture Partners, Kivu Ventures and Saga Ventures, with North Road adding more capital, and said it had a strategic partnership with Google that helped develop MUSE. Its first feature, NinjaPunk, was described then as a hybrid of AI and human artistry. It has also been reported to have acquired Curious Refuge, a generative AI film school. In July 2026 Promise was named one of five AI companies in the 2026 Disney Accelerator class, alongside FieldAI, Physical Intelligence, OpenArt and Simile, a four-month programme ending in a demo day in November.