👊 Joseph Kim

I don't think I'm too late to the party. Here's my first Luma AI video (queued for 4-6 hours). I'm not very experienced with video generators, but I've been playing #RunwayML for the past few months. My first impression of prompt-to-video: (+) The video has much more movements and character action than anything I got with runway, like way more. (+) 6 seconds, instead of 4. (+) Runway has a protection against multiple types of scenes (some of which I definitely agree with, but some I find restrictive, if you want to explore the action and horror movie genre). This one is meant for an action movie and it wasn't blocked as too violent, which I appreciate. (-) a few more gen-ai defects than I was lead to expect, but still acceptable for now (if you're looking for that gen-ai style). (-) announced time-to-generate 120 seconds which is slower than runway (even for 50% longer sequence). https://lnkd.in/eeBgyStA Overall, the current developments pace in the field leads me to think that in a year, we'll have something like 3x faster generation and close to perfect cinematic videos every time. We'll see.

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ACTION SHOT: Iconic Arts Chief Technology Officer Omar Abdelwahed breaking down to our investors how our proprietary AI World Builder works. "Think of what Wix or Squarespace did to empower anyone wanting to make websites without knowing how to code. Our tool enables creators to materialize worlds for UGC platforms such as Fortnite, Roblox or any multiplayer native environment, as if they were painting." What once took a dev team minimum 3 months, now takes anyone 3 days - all while remaining control of art direction. It's been a complete game-changer for us to market test our IP within multiple types of game formats, content strategies and merchandising plays on these UGC platforms while simultaneously building a participating community and fan-base. But this only works if the cost is ultra low and the speed is ultra high. Traditionally, market testing and validation for original IP happens after hundreds of thousands / millions are already spent to get something made that is good enough to test. But by then, it's usually too late when studios realize it's not going to work and all that money goes down the drain. We see this all the time with games, films and shows getting shelved or even worst, entering "development hell". And then we wonder why they say the "entertainment industry is broken". This is why. The economics simply do not make sense for a sustainable and scalable model. For this reason, we took a "Silicon Valley approach" when building Iconic Arts as the premier next-gen entertainment company that doesn't just embrace and leverage new technology, we build the very tools that solve the problems of a broken industry. I love our team and honored to be building very powerful tools that I know will also empower creators and storytellers around the world. Benjamin Grubbs Shane Kokkines Motoki Tani Alec Griffen Roth Matthew Medney Mo Yazdani Rob Carroll

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Dude Perfect raised $100M for global biz expansion. The deal is getting lots of buzz, but our team’s math signals challenges ahead. Let’s break it down… DEAL DETAILS • $100 - 300M growth capital investment • Led by Highmount Capital • Unclear if 100% invested upfront OR draw down of commitment over time • No previous capital raised USE OF FUNDS • Hire mgmt team to expand biz • More live experiences incl int’l tour, consumer products • Grow content formats, frequency, channels, global localization e.g. animation, TV, movies, streaming • Extend brand beyond 5 founders by building talent network • New HQ in Frisco, TX as prod facility and “family-friendly entertainment destination”: – Retail store, podcasts / gaming / fan UGC spaces, trick shot tower, DP museum, mini golf, restaurants – Original plans for 3-story, 30 acre facility est to cost $100M+, 2 yrs to build COMPANY OVERVIEW: Dude Perfect • Digital-native comedy and sports media brand • Faith-based mission: “We’re about giving back, spreading joy and glorifying Jesus Christ”  • Other YouTube franchises: “Stereotypes,” “Overtime”, “Bucket List”  • Media brand also incl books, mobile games, board games and toys, and merch / retail / food and beverage partnerships • 25 current team members PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS • 60M YouTube Followers, 17B views • Est 2024 revenue: $50M per DP • Est 2023 and 2022 revenue: $25M and $20M per WSJ  • Consumer product partnerships incl Nerf toy line, Columbia Sportswear • Partnered with A Parent Media co to launch a streaming service • ESPN “30 for 30” doc premiering at Dallas Int’l film festival • TV series on CMT in 2016, later aired on Nickelodeon • Alternate broadcasts for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football • 4 live nationwide tours as of 2023 ORIGIN STORY • Founded 2009 by 5 friends at Texas A&M • Cofounders = twins Coby Cotton and Cory Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert • Started as YT channel featuring trick shot videos INVESTOR OVERVIEW: Highmount Capital • Growth stage and middle mkt PE fund for tech, media, healthcare • Founded in 2023 by jason illian and David Hawkins • 4 team members on website + advisor • 3 team members have faith-based ties per bios • No other investments listed on website other than DP My takeaway... I really like and support the trend of increased investment into YouTubers and digital-native media brands. But as I wrote about in my 2024 State of Creator x Media capital markets reports (will link them below), investment must match market and opportunity size. To ensure good ROI, and to set good precedent for future investment into our space. The DP bet is exciting, but could be overly optimistic based on our prelim math. My colleague Michael Booth's post breaks the math down (link below). More analysis to come in my Friday newsletter. —- I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My dm’s are open. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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We usually post about #AI in the visual sphere... but what about music? As a musician myself, I'm very curious about it. There's a new blog entry where we tested some AI music generators. #music #aimusic #musicgenerator

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Some have asked what is the latest project that we're working on. TLDR: We're building a suite of tools to help AI Craftsmen create, deploy, and monetize their work. It's called InstaSD (yes, we'll need a rebrand at some point 😁). And I wrote a little post about our core bet: the role of the AI Craftsman in building software.

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So digital can have real world outcomes. Behaviour change can stretch across commercial and social needs.

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DULCEDO Management bought Node App for $13M. This marks Dulcedo’s 5th acquisition since 2016. Let's break it down... ---SELLER: Node--- • AI-powered influencer marketing platform • Mission = bridge gap between small businesses and micro-influencers • Founded 2019 by Armin Faraji, Mackenzie Dérival ✌🏾 • Initially focused on restaurants, expanded to ecom brands • Focuses on Instagram, TikTok campaigns • 2021 raised $1M seed round from Techstars, Alchemist, strategic angels ---TECH OVERVIEW: Node App--- • In 2022 selected for Google for Startups Accelerator program • Pioneered a machine-learning technology to revolutionize agency workflows by improving influencer discovery and data reporting • “Creators can participate in brand campaigns in 3 clicks via Node, as opposed to pitching/negotiating with brands” • “Brands can create a campaign and begin interacting with influencers within 5-10 min of landing on Node's website” ---PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: Node App--- • Over 2,000 clients across North America • Generated “tens of millions of social media impressions” • Clients incl Kraft, Samsonite, Jarritos, St-Regis, Marriott • Has activated 5,000+ content creators in campaigns • Creators include A-list models, elite athletes, actors, social influencers • During pandemic scaled from 30 to 800 brands five months ---BUYER: Dulcedo Group--- • Global talent mgmt and digital marketing agency • 4 divisions – Models, Sports, Gaming, Influencer • Offices in Montreal and Toronto • Founded 2008 by CEO Karim Leduc • 3 co-owners incl founder • 70+ team members ---M&A HISTORY: Dulcedo Group--- • 2022 acquired C4G, a startup esports marketing agency • 2016 acquired 4249, an influencer relations agency • 2023 acquired Influence + All Management • 2023 acquired Sundae Creative Agency • 2024 acquired Node ---DEAL DETAILS--- • $13M purchase price • No other details were disclosed ---DEAL VALUE PROP--- • Give Node added funding, resources for growth • Access to Dulcedo's 300M network following  • Access to Dulcedo’s diverse creator roster to support IM campaigns across various industries • Accelerate development of AI-enabled tools to enhance the IM campaign lifecycle ---POST DEAL OPS--- • Dulcedo CEO will serve as interim Node CEO • Node co-founder Armin Faraji moves to COO • Node co-founder Mackenzie Dérival remains as CPO ---WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING--- I'll write more about the deal in my Friday newsletter. I'll estimate Node's revenue and EBITDA, and discuss valuation multiples and likely deal structure. Signup link in comments below 👇 -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.

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🚀 Innovation's Dark Night 🌌 In tech, we often glorify the meteoric success stories. But what about the long, dark night of the innovator—the challenges, doubts, and relentless grind that rarely make headlines? In March 2020, when COVID-19 shut down the trade show industry, it felt like the ground disappeared beneath us. With live events paused indefinitely, my team and I had to act fast. Within two weeks, SURREAL Events was born—a platform to help brands connect with audiences in a photorealistic, immersive way. We had a vision and a lean runway, but no blueprint. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. Our first big test came with Riskonnect, a virtual event with high stakes and barely functional tech. After a bumpy launch, our client reminded me: "Failure isn’t an option." Yet, failure seemed inevitable. That was when my good friend and advisor James Ray told me: This is the dark night of the innovator. It’s the space every founder enters on the road to real change. Fast forward to today—Surreal has powered immersive experiences for brands like Epic Games, SEPHORA, Atlanta Braves and Celebrity Cruises. Those early struggles were transformative. They taught me that if you’re not experiencing the dark night, then you’re probably not innovating. Innovation isn’t always glamorous—it’s about resilience, risk, and embracing the unknown. 🌑💡 Once again, thanks to the #AIVideo wizards at Simulus AI for helping share my story 🧙‍♂️ ✨ #InnovationJourney #Resilience #TechStartups #DarkNightOfTheInnovator #SurrealEvents #EmbraceTheUnknown

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Great read on the concept and practical examples of "Synth.AI" or synthesizing information into AI workflows. As we move forward with building experiences and solutions on top of these LLM's the concept of synthesizing information to feed into LLM's for robust outputs that can be immediately actioned is game changing #AI #GenAI #Innovate https://lnkd.in/g_ttCnu8

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