Possibly an absence of AI characters is what Quibi obtained improper. Not less than, that’s what one startup seems to imagine.
My Drama is a brand new quick collection app with over 30 exhibits, with a majority of them following a cleaning soap opera format with a purpose to hook viewers. The app is now launching an AI-powered chatbot for viewers to get to know the characters in depth, bringing it in nearer competitors with corporations like Character.AI, the a16z-backed chatbot startup.
The quick drama app was developed by Holywater, a Ukraine-based media tech startup based by Bogdan Nesvit (CEO) and Anatolii Kasianov (CTO). The mum or dad firm additionally operates a studying app referred to as My Ardour, primarily recognized for its romance titles.
Since its launch in April, My Drama has quickly gained traction, boasting 1 million customers and $3 million in income. Holywater has a robust observe document with its merchandise, producing $90 million in annual recurring income (ARR) throughout all its choices.
Imagine it or not, the quick drama app market has taken off, a lot to Quibi’s dismay. Current app retailer knowledge exhibits that throughout the first quarter of 2024, 66 quick drama apps (ReelShort, DramaBox, and extra) achieved document income of $146 million in world client spending, per app intelligence agency Appfigures.
Holywater believes My Drama stands out among the many more and more crowd market as a result of its sturdy library of IP. Because of My Ardour’s hundreds of books already revealed on the studying app, My Drama has a wealth of content material to adapt into movies. Plus, My Ardour has a longtime fanbase who will doubtless be desirous to see their favourite character come to life.
By the tip of the yr, My Drama plans to launch 100 titles.
The corporate’s subsequent wager will introduce AI characters that may work together with viewers, creating an immersive storytelling expertise.
Upon launch, My Drama customers can have the chance to have interaction with two fictional characters: Jaxon, the billionaire love curiosity from “The Shy Beauty and the Billionaire Beast,” and Hayden, the inheritor of a formidable mafia household in “Love Captive to a Mafia Boss.”
After watching just a few chapters of the collection, the viewer is prompted to speak with the character. They will additionally ask the characters to ship pictures. (My Drama doesn’t enable NSFW content material.)
Throughout a demo shared with TechCrunch, Nesvit and Kasianov walked us by way of what an interplay with Hayden would seem like. The app guides you to construct a relationship with him and earn his belief (he’s a scary mafia boss, in any case). He’ll quiz you on the occasions within the collection, equivalent to inquiring concerning the rival gang he’s aiming to defeat.
On the high of the display screen is a meter measuring your rating on Hayden’s belief meter. The corporate explains this gamification tactic goals to extend engagement on the platform.
The AI companions can even be accessible by way of a standalone app referred to as My Creativeness, which is at present in beta. With the brand new app, customers can have extra customized conversations with the characters. Additional down the road, they’ll even be capable to create their very own characters, which is Character.AI’s specialty.
It’s price noting that the characters Jaxon and Hayden are portrayed by actual human actors Nazar Grabar and Bodgan Ruban. At a time when actors are involved about AI’s influence on the trade, it’s fascinating that two actors are keen to provide an organization permission to make use of their likeness to be an AI companion. Nevertheless, it’s considerably reassuring to know that they’re being pretty compensated for it. In accordance with Holywater, the compensation for being an AI companion can exceed their common actor wage.
Nesvit defined, “The payment system consists of a fixed rate plus additional royalties. Depending on the number of users and the time they spend in the chat, actors can now earn up to $10,000 per month. The more users they attract to the chat, the higher their royalty payment.”
The human writers and producers at My Drama leverage AI for some features of scriptwriting, localization, and voice performing. Notably, the corporate hires tons of of actors to movie content material, all of whom have consented to the usage of their likenesses for voice sampling and video era. My Drama makes use of a number of AI fashions, together with ElevenLabs, Secure Diffusion, OpenAI, and Meta’s Llama 3.
As many media corporations declare, Holywater emphasizes the time and prices saved by way of the usage of AI. For instance, when filming a home fireplace, the corporate solely spent round $100 utilizing AI to create the video, in comparison with the roughly $8,000 it might have price with out it. The usage of AI allows My Drama to provide content material in only one week.
“Our goal by the end of the year is to drop the costs to at least 40% by using AI,” stated Nesvit.
Moreover, the corporate plans to additional iterate on the AI chatbot function, including a functionality the place new scenes seem after customers work together with characters, which, in a manner, permits them to behave because the co-creator for the collection.
It’ll additionally launch video and voice chatting capabilities someday sooner or later. Character.AI lately launched the flexibility for customers to voice chat with characters.
My Drama is obtainable on the net and on iOS and Android units. Whereas just a few episodes are free to look at, the app places nearly all of the episodes behind a paywall. Customers need to buy certainly one of its coin packs, which vary from $2.99 to $19.99 per week, to unlock premium titles, ad-free viewing, and early entry to content material.
