Grandson of LG founder, production company partners to bring AI to filmmaking
By Kate Park | Published: 2025-11-03 14:00:00 | Source: TechCrunch
Ever since AI tools became mainstream, filmmakers, writers, and actors have been scrambling to figure out if these technologies can really help their creativity or if they could end up replacing humans. But there’s a bigger concern we need to address before we get swept away by the debate: that AI can’t function without massive data centers and power infrastructure.
A new joint venture, called Utopai East, aims to address this need by developing infrastructure specifically for the production of films and TV shows using artificial intelligence. The joint venture is 50-50 owned by an investment company Stock Farm Road (SFR) and AI film and television production company YouTube Studios.
SFR, co-founded by Brian Ko (grandson of LG Group founder Ko In-hui) and Amin Badr El Din, founder and CEO of Badr Investments, is contributing capital to the joint venture, along with creative expertise and industry contacts. Meanwhile, Utopai provides the technology, workflow and infrastructure.
The project will also include co-production of film and television projects, expanding access to Korean intellectual property to international audiences. Production will begin using existing infrastructure, and the company expects to release the first portion of content from this collaboration next year, according to Silica Shen, co-founder and CEO of Utopai Studios.
In the short term, the use of AI will primarily be about cutting costs and increasing efficiency, Kuo told TechCrunch.
“But beyond that, we’re very excited about the new possibilities that AI opens up. As we engage with creators, we’re exploring completely new things that could become possible. Right now, some of our early focus is on creators in Korea,” Ko said. “Just as short-form content was new when it first came out, we see opportunities for new approaches. We work not only with well-known directors in cinema but also with young and innovative creators who are not limited to traditional films.”
But novelty alone will not allay the concerns of people who work in the entertainment industry, or those who consume the content. AI could one day replace people in creative roles e.g Acting and performanceand writingHowever, they often lack the depth, nuance and emotional resonance of human storytelling. This has sparked a broader debate about the value of human creativity in an age where machines can imitate the human touch, but not fully imitate it.
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But Shen and Kuo stress that their use of artificial intelligence is only aimed at improving current processes. “These questions have been at the heart of everything we build at Utopai Studios,” said Shen. “From the beginning, our focus has never been on automation. Our workflows are designed to work alongside filmmakers, not instead of them. We still need writers to write, directors to direct, and actors to perform,” Sheen said.
Shen added that every model and dataset used is fully licensed and contractually approved, ensuring that the technology respects the creators whose work makes filmmaking possible.
“We want creators to understand that AI can expand their creative potential rather than compete with them,” Kuo said. “It can help realize their dreams, giving them the freedom to fully explore their creativity without worrying that AI will replace them. We believe this will be one of the most exciting results for us.”
He added: “Normally, content and intellectual property grow incrementally – one IP develops after another – but with the right technology, especially AI, there is the potential for exponential growth. It’s not about AI replacing people, it’s about the enormous value it can create for audiences, creators and engineers alike.”
This deal follows SFR’s recent agreement with the Jeollanam-do District Government for construction A 3 GW AI data center in South Korea.
“The data center is part of our larger mission at Stock Farm Road to build the backbone for the next generation of intelligence-driven industries. Beyond Utopai and entertainment studios, we are also focusing on areas such as manufacturing, energy-to-information, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. These are all interconnected areas that require the same kind of infrastructure,” Kuo said.
The data center will serve as the foundation for everything Utopai East develops, and will include a complete AI infrastructure for entertainment content, including data management, creative intelligence, production and distribution.
While financial details of the joint venture have not been disclosed, capital comes from multiple channels, including SFR’s investment vehicles, global sovereign and institutional investors, and industry partners in film and entertainment, the company said.
The joint venture will start producing Korean content, but aims to expand into other parts of Asia eventually. “Japan is also always a great market,” Chen noted, making it a natural starting point for expansion, adding that she also sees great potential in China and Thailand.
(TagsTranslation)Brian Kuo
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