Culver City is emerging as a growing hub for artificial intelligence-driven filmmaking, attracting a cluster of AI studios alongside established entertainment and technology companies. On Wednesday, the open space known as Culver Steps transformed into a job fair aimed at recruiting talent for AI-focused film production studios, marking a notable shift in the local creative economy.
The event, part of LA Tech Week organized by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, featured companies showcasing AI-generated videos and inviting creative professionals, including those currently unemployed, to join the evolving industry. Dave Clark, co-founder of AI film studio Promise, characterized Culver City as a fertile environment for innovation, describing it as an opportunity for independent filmmakers to reclaim creative influence.
Culver City already hosts major industry players such as Amazon MGM Studios, TikTok, Apple, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. In recent years, it has drawn a growing number of AI studios, including Promise, TrueShort, Native Foreign, and PhantomX. Notably, Luma AI—a Palo Alto-based startup valued at $4 billion and specializing in generative AI video software—established a 7,000-square-foot Dream Lab in the city last year, employing 13 staff. Caroline Ingeborn, Luma AI’s chief operations officer, described the area as “the future of AI and filmmaking.”
These companies cited Culver City’s existing legacy studios and the availability of affordable space, a result of broader industry shifts in Los Angeles, as key attractions. Proponents argue that AI technology offers a solution to escalating production costs and opens doors for creative projects that might not otherwise be financially viable. However, concerns persist among Hollywood unions and some members of the public over AI’s impact on jobs and the potential erosion of human creative roles.
TrueShort, which recently relocated to a 5,000-square-foot office near Amazon’s studio in Culver City, exemplifies the sector’s growth. The AI studio, with approximately 45 employees—about 75% of whom are creatives—produces short-form true crime content fully generated by AI. Their ten-minute episodes typically cost around $10,000 and take about 10 days from concept to release. Co-founder Nate Tepper envisions AI startups as potential industry disruptors, asserting that “the next Netflix or the next Disney is going to come out of AI this time.”
Native Foreign, another Culver City-based studio, specializes in AI-generated commercials for brands such as Virgin and Toys R Us. The company produced one of the early AI-animated shorts, “Critterz,” though plans to expand the project were affected when OpenAI withdrew support for its video-making AI model.
Promise, which relocated to Culver City in June from Venice, advocates hybrid productions that blend human performances with AI-generated elements like backgrounds and visual effects. The studio also acquired Curious Refuge, an online educational platform teaching filmmakers to incorporate generative AI tools, underscoring the expanding infrastructure supporting AI media production.
City officials have expressed support for the burgeoning AI creative economy. Adam Troy, assistant city manager of Culver City, emphasized the city’s openness to the evolving industry, calling it a “hub for the creative economy” and expressing anticipation for future developments.
At the same time, the Hollywood labor landscape is adapting to AI’s rise. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) secured contractual protections this year to prevent the unauthorized use of fully synthetic performers.
Industry veterans note that the integration of new technologies in filmmaking has historically faced resistance. Alex Cancado, who now works in AI studios at Amazon MGM, likened the current transition to past challenges in gaining acceptance for computer-generated imagery.
The surge of AI interest in filmmaking traces back to a conference launched in Culver City in 2023, titled “AI on the Lot,” which has grown to draw thousands of participants annually. Organizers, including Mike Gioia, aim to establish Culver City as a center for AI media innovation by fostering a “Culver cluster” that attracts companies and talent focused on artificial intelligence in entertainment. “We want to make Culver City the capital of AI media,” Gioia said.