Blackbox, an AI-based webtoon short animation production startup, announced that it has attracted seed investment from Bluepoint Partners and ATP Ventures. In addition, Blackbox was selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ technology startup program ‘TIPS’ and secured 500 million won in research and development (R&D) funds.
Blackbox is developing a solution that uses AI technology to convert webtoon original drawings into short animations. This solution can connect characters and backgrounds with just a few webtoon or illustration original images to implement natural scene transitions and motions. Compared to the existing animation production process, it can significantly reduce time and cost, and has the advantage of allowing webtoon artists and illustrators to easily produce and distribute animation content.
Blackbox has adopted a business model targeting both B2B (studios) and B2C (individual creators), and is targeting the rapidly growing demand of the global OTT (Over-the-Top) and short-form video platform market. In particular, in the current situation where secondary content production utilizing webtoon IP (intellectual property rights) is attracting attention, Blackbox’s technology is evaluated to have great potential.
With this seed investment and TIPS support, Blackbox plans to advance its AI engine, build a content production pipeline, enter overseas markets (China, Southeast Asia, North America, etc.), and expand partnerships.
Lee Jong-min, CEO of Blackbox, said, “We will effectively utilize investment and R&D funds to present an advanced webtoon animation automation solution,” and “We plan to launch a full-scale short animation production service starting in the second half of the year and also pursue B2B collaboration with companies and studios.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.