Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Google Backs Animaj With $1 Million to Shape AI‑Made Kids' Videos on YouTube

Early access to Google’s models, with internal guidance, signals a push for higher‑quality kids’ AI videos on YouTube.

© Serhii Yevdokymov via Shutterstock

Overview

  • Google’s AI Futures Fund invested $1 million in Animaj, an AI animation studio focused on children’s YouTube content, announced March 12.
  • The tie-up grants Animaj early access to new versions of Veo, Gemini and Imagen, plus support from Google DeepMind and Google Labs to tailor and scale its tools.
  • Animaj says its channels drew about 22 billion YouTube views last year and it is building franchises by acquiring kids’ IP such as Pocoyo and Maya the Bee.
  • The studio is the first kids‑media company backed by Google’s AI accelerator and was co‑founded in 2022 by Gregory Dray and Sixte de Vauplane.
  • The partnership unfolds as YouTube targets low‑quality AI for young viewers, with a New York Times review finding 40% of recommended videos in a test appeared AI‑generated and Google expanding a likeness‑detection tool for takedown requests.