First there were XR studios, then it was “metaver“Studies, or even” virtual “studios. Regardless of the technical buzzword, there has always been a new wave of updated companies, dedicated to being leaders to create content for anything The new medium was at that moment.
Today buzzword – and that which actually seems like it’s more than just a fashion fly – is a generative artificial intelligence. The wave of people who exclaim themselves as the new studio-masters with gen-AI has been impossible to keep track of.
Well, someone finally did.
A consulting group and product innovation laboratory called FBRC.AI on Friday released a report That AIMS TO QUITE LITERALLY MAP OUT ALL THE AI Content Creators in the Landscape as of March 2025. It Can’t Profess to Be Complely Comprehensive (Another AI Studio Just Lunched as You Finished Reading This Sentence) Companies that self-identify as ai studios, even if it’s just “the tip of the iceberg,” as the report say, of all the studios that could be out there.
Of the 98 studios, 65 have launched since 2022 and over 30 have launched only 2024 and the first two months 2025 alone. The report found that many of these companies only have 5 or fewer employees and largely are independent efforts. It speaks to how fast the industry around Gen-Ai grows and how many want to be the first to really break out in mainstream.
In addition to a broad overview of space and a world map of each of these companies is based, the entire report contains profiles with nine different studios that are among the current leaders in space: PromiseAsteria, Shy Kids, Invisible Universe, Playbook, Ai Hub, Pigeon Shrine, Secret Level and Mod Tech Labs.
As the report shows, not all these companies are created equally, and they are in a spectrum when it comes to how they use AI. Some are jobs for rental agencies that almost exclusively take customers, while others co -produce, and others work to fully develop their own content they can create and distribute.
In addition, some companies are regarded as “AI Native” studios, by using “closed source” models such as Openai’s Sora, Runway or Luma’s Dream Machine and will create text, images and video entirely via AI instructions that go directly from script to screen. Others will use an open source model like Comfyui that gives creators a little more control over the creation tools. And others still use only AI to increase traditional production pipesto do either live-action/AI hybrids or just use AI to be more effective.
“Part of the way the conversation around AI in the media and entertainment has developed positively is that the voices that speak in space now have experience of actually telling stories,” reads the report from Rachel Joy Victor. “Although everyone has experimented with technology throughout their career and thus drawn to AI as the next limit, they all had many years of experience with stories. Almost every founder certifies that they still believe that the most significant moat is not technical but rather about who can do the work to create a good story. “
Making these distinctions in the AI space is important for people who have a slim or pigeon-in capable idea of how generative AI production is or what it looks like. But the report recognizes that many of these lines will start blur over time and when the models are improved, with studios that experiment with hybrid projects and full-blown AI films.
With the exception of Asteria, who just launched its own “pure model” called MareyMost of the profiled companies do not build their own AI models and will leave that work to the technical giants like Openai and Runway. But they separate themselves by developing their own data methods as these models are trained (think Lionsgate’s latest partnership with Runway), and to develop their own unique workflows or interfaces about how they want to use the tools. According to PlayBooks Skylar Thomas through the report, it is because knowledgeable viewers begin to notice that individual AI models each have their own appearance to them, and to use them via your own data method is a way to differ.
So do all these companies work to take everyone’s job? Not necessarily, the report concludes. While some dabs in shorts, feature films and television programs, others are invested in VR, games, ads and music videos, including new formats of content. And although it can be cheaper and faster to produce content, not all these small companies have the infrastructure required to support elaborate models and create long -term business models.
Check out the entire report from FBRC.AI here.
