Perhaps an absence of AI characters is what Quibi received improper. Not less than, that’s what one startup seems to imagine.
My Drama is a brand new quick collection app with greater than 30 exhibits, with a majority of them following a cleaning soap opera format as a way 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 firms 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 identified 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 powerful observe report with its merchandise, producing $90 million in annual recurring income (ARR) throughout all its choices.
Consider it or not, the quick drama app market has taken off, a lot to Quibi’s dismay. Current app retailer information exhibits that throughout the first quarter of 2024, 66 quick drama apps (ReelShort, DramaBox, and extra) achieved report income of $146 million in international shopper spending, per app intelligence agency Appfigures.
Holywater believes My Drama stands out among the many more and more crowded market on account of its sturdy library of IP. Due to My Ardour’s 1000’s of books already printed on the studying app, My Drama has a wealth of content material to adapt into movies. Plus, My Ardour has a longtime fanbase that may possible be wanting to see their favourite characters come to life.
By the top of the yr, My Drama plans to launch 100 titles.
The corporate’s subsequent guess 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 interact with two fictional characters: Jaxon, the billionaire love curiosity from “The Shy Magnificence and the Billionaire Beast,” and Hayden, the inheritor of a formidable mafia household in “Love Captive to a Mafia Boss.”
After watching a number of chapters of the collection, the viewer is prompted to talk with the character. They’ll additionally ask the characters to ship pictures. (My Drama doesn’t permit NSFW content material.)
Throughout a demo shared with TechCrunch, Nesvit and Kasianov walked us via what an interplay with Hayden would appear 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, resembling 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 will even be accessible through 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 business, it’s fascinating that two actors are prepared to present an organization permission to make use of their likeness to be an AI companion. Nonetheless, it’s considerably reassuring to know that they’re being pretty compensated for it. Based on Holywater, the compensation for being an AI companion can exceed their common actor wage.
Nesvit defined, “The cost system consists of a hard and fast charge plus extra royalties. Relying on the variety of customers and the time they spend within the chat, actors can now earn as much as $10,000 per 30 days. The extra customers they appeal to to the chat, the upper their royalty cost.”
The human writers and producers at My Drama leverage AI for some facets of scriptwriting, localization and voice appearing. Notably, the corporate hires tons of of actors to movie content material, all of whom have consented to using their likenesses for voice sampling and video era. My Drama makes use of a number of AI fashions, together with ElevenLabs, Steady Diffusion, OpenAI and Meta’s Llama 3.
As many media firms declare, Holywater emphasizes the time and prices saved via using 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 could have value with out it. The usage of AI permits My Drama to provide content material in only one week.
“Our purpose by the top of the yr is to drop the prices to a minimum of 40% by utilizing AI,” mentioned Nesvit.
Moreover, the corporate plans to additional iterate on the AI chatbot characteristic, 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 accessible on the net and on iOS and Android units. Whereas a number of episodes are free to look at, the app places nearly all of the episodes behind a paywall. Customers must buy one in all 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.