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This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.
Netflix has been building a new internal studio called INKubator that aims to use AI to produce short-form animated content: The streamer is hiring for a wide variety of roles, including producers, software engineers, and CG artists to staff INKubator, according to a number of recently published job listings.
Netflix has yet to publicly announce its plans for INKubator, which job listings also sometimes refer to as INK. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A handful of LinkedIn profiles suggest the unit quietly launched in March. Its leadership includes Serrena Iyer, who previously held strategy and operational roles at DreamWorks Animation, MRC Studios, and A24 Films.
INKubator is just Netflix’s latest push to use AI for production. Earlier this year, it acquired InterPositive, an AI startup founded by Ben Affleck. But while InterPositive is primarily focused on the use of AI in post-production, INKubator appears to go much further: A listing for INKubator’s head of technology calls it “our next-generation, creative-led, GenAI-native animation studio,” with plans to “bridge innovation with imaginative storytelling.”
INKubator’s long-term technology strategy will focus on “GenAI-enabled workflows, artist tooling, and scalable, secure multi-show environments,” according to the listing, suggesting that this is about much more than one-off experiments. “We aim to develop feature-quality content,” emphasizes another listing.
At least for now, Netflix doesn’t plan to produce the next KPop Demon Hunters with AI. Instead, INKubator will be all about “creating animated shorts and specials using experimental GenAI-native production pipelines,” as one of the listings puts it.
However, at least one job listing suggests the company is already considering taking the technology beyond shorts. INKubator’s head of technology will “ensure that INK’s technology investments accelerate creative ambition [...] as we ramp up activity and aim to expand into longer-form content,” a listing for that position states (emphasis added).
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