Utopai Studios (formerly Cybever) is an American computer animation studio and generative artificial intelligence company.
History Cybever was founded in 2022 by Cecilia Shen and Jie Yang. Shen Was Chief Executive Officer and Yang Chief Technology Officer during the Cybever period, and both retained those roles following the company’s 2025 rebrand as Utopai Studios.
Cybever operated as an AI technology company focused on generating and editing 3D virtual environments and video.
In September 2026, Utopai Studios and DeNA's Entertainment Development Business Unit announced a collaboration in Japan to explore AI-assisted animation-production workflows using Utopai's PAI system.
On August 26, 2025, Cybever announced it had rebranded as Utopai Studios; Forbes reported that the company had booked roughly $110 million in revenue across global territories for its announced projects, Cortés and Space Nation. In November 2025, Utopai Studios announced Utopai East, which focuses on expanding access to Korean and Japanese intellectual property for international audiences.
In May 2026, Utopai Studios secured a strategic investment from professional basketball player Carmelo Anthony's production company, Creative 7. While the exact financial terms were not officially disclosed, the investment was estimated to be approximately $5 million, which valued Utopai Studios at $1 billion.
In February 2026, the company's joint venture, Utopai East, acquired 100% of Alquimista Media, a Seoul-based production house led by former Warner Bros. Korea and Studio Dragon executive Hyun Park. The deal included an active development pipeline of 15 scripted television series and feature films.
Projects Cortés, a historical epic in development as a two-part feature, written by screenwriter Nicholas Kazan and directed by production designer/director Kirk Petruccelli. Space Nation, a science-fiction series in development. Journey to the West – A fully AI-generated series co-produced with Chinese entertainment company Huace Film & TV, utilizing Utopai's PAI 2.0 platform. Half Moon – An animated feature film co-produced with South Korean filmmaker Hyo-joo Yang, combining traditional animation with generative AI tools. By September 2026, principal photography had begun in Germany. The Most Serious Fart – An animated feature film adaptation of Mike Bender's children's book, currently in development. Written and directed by Bender, with Russell Hollander producing.
Technology and Products PAI On March 5, 2026, Utopai Studios publicly released PAI, a generative artificial intelligence video model and workflow designed for cinematic, long-form storytelling."Utopai Studios opens access to PAI long-form AI video model." Utopai Studios Newsroom. March 16, 2026. In contrast to single-shot generative tools, the platform tracks narrative continuity, character consistency, and environmental stability across multi-shot sequences. On April 15, 2026, the company updated the system to support a "Story Agent" capable of rendering continuous three-minute video sequences at 4K resolution."Utopai Studios Announces Three Minute 4K Video Generation and Enhanced Story Agent for Its PAI Storytelling AI Platform." Business Wire. April 14, 2026.
Within the first sixty days of its release, the technology generated $11 million in annual recurring revenue through commercial licensing to global production companies.Craig, Matt. "Meet The 25-Year-Old Vying To Become Hollywood’s First AI Movie Mogul." Forbes. May 21, 2026.
In July 2026, the company launched PAI 2.0, introducing a "Pro Mode" featuring a native editing canvas workspace, voice input controls, and 4K rendering.
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