Studio Jadu, a San Mateo company backed by Khosla Ventures and Shakti VC, formally launched on 30 September. In its announcement it describes itself as an animation studio built around outside creators rather than in-house shows: it says it will back solo artists and small teams through production, distribution, marketing and monetisation, and share revenue with them while they keep artistic control.
Production runs through AIDA, which the company calls an AI Director's Assistant, a tool for turning a creator's script into animation. Studio Jadu sets it against prompt-to-video generators and says it works as a sounding board that leaves the creative decisions with the artist. Shows already made with it include The Future Was Awesome, a comedy from four-time Emmy winner Fred Graver, the thriller Sentinels and the supernatural mystery SDF.
Founder and chief executive Masoud Loghmani previously built monetisation products at YouTube and TikTok, and the company links that background to his interest in using AI to support creative businesses. It says its channels already have more than 2.5 million YouTube subscribers.
Applications are open for a Pioneer Program, with a stated preference for anime-inspired projects and for creators ready to direct their own work. Those selected get access to AIDA along with marketing, distribution and monetisation support.
Sources · 1