Promise Acquires Curious Refuge: A Milestone in AI-Driven Storytelling

Promise Acquires Curious Refuge to Empower and Discover Generative AI Storytellers Worldwide

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Promise, the pioneering film and TV studio built for the Generative AI era, announced its acquisition of Curious Refuge, the premier AI film school dedicated to empowering the next generation of storytellers. This acquisition marks a major milestone in Promise's mission to foster global innovation in the Generative AI space, creating an environment where learning, creativity, and imagination can thrive. Pioneering film and TV studio, Promise, announces its acquisition of Curious Refuge, the premier Gen AI film school. Since its launch in 2020, Curious Refuge has become a vital resource for mentoring and educating emerging and established artists, equipping them with the knowledge to explore the vast creative potential of Generative AI. Through workshops, courses, and partnerships with Hollywood organizations and guilds, Curious Refuge has cultivated a uniquely supportive ecosystem, elevating the skills of over 4,000 people from 171 countries and helping talent across the entertainment industry lean into this new era of storytelling. As Gen AI ushers in a new movement of creativity and filmmaking, Curious Refuge has established itself as a home base for learning, experimentation, and artistic growth. "Curious Refuge has demonstrated that Generative AI is more than just a tool -- it's an artform that sparks new forms of collaboration, unlocks creativity, and brings extraordinary visions to life," said George Strompolos, Co-Founder and CEO of Promise. "By joining forces, Promise and Curious Refuge will lead the creation of a vibrant creative community, connecting artists, filmmakers, and industry leaders who are inspired to harness the power of Generative AI." This acquisition underscores Promise's commitment to producing cutting-edge films and series while cultivating a creative talent pipeline that also benefits the broader entertainment industry. It also opens the door for Curious Refuge creators to be considered for roles on future Promise film and TV projects, bridging the gap between emerging talent and compelling storytelling. "We've always been inspired by new ways to express creativity, and through Curious Refuge, we've had the privilege of witnessing the unbridled imagination that flourishes when bold ideas meet the right tools," said Caleb & Shelby Ward, who serve as co-founders of Curious Refuge. "Curious Refuge has always been a safe space for creators to explore and embrace these advanced tools without fear of the unknown. This acquisition allows us to deepen our investment in the global community of storytellers while leveraging Promise's industry connections to link our creators to exciting film and TV opportunities." With investment backing from Peter Chernin's The North Road and Andrew Chen at Andreessen Horowitz, Promise is actively collaborating with leading Gen AI artists, Hollywood talent, and rights-holders to produce a multi-year slate of films, series, and innovative formats. Founded in late 2024 by Fullscreen CEO George Strompolos, former YouTube content executive Jamie Byrne, and acclaimed Gen AI innovator Dave Clark, Promise is committed to creating a creative environment that champions original stories for global audiences. Together, Promise and Curious Refuge aim to shape a future where technology and human ingenuity work in harmony to push the boundaries of creativity, empower bold voices, and reimagine what's possible in storytelling. About Promise Promise Advanced Imagination, Inc. is a studio built from the ground up in the era of Generative AI to produce films, series, and explore new forms of entertainment for a variety of distribution platforms. Founded in 2024, the company collaborates with Gen AI artists, Hollywood talent, and third-party rights-holders to deliver a diverse slate of innovative storytelling to global audiences. Learn more at www.PromiseStudios.com. About Curious Refuge Curious Refuge is the premier online school and creative community for AI-powered storytelling, helping artists, studios, brands, and creators worldwide learn how to bring their boldest ideas to life with this transformative technology. Through interactive courses and a vibrant community, Curious Refuge is championing a new era of creativity. SOCIAL MEDIA: URL: www.PromiseStudios.com. www.CuriousRefuge.com X: @Promise_AI, @gstrompolos, @CuriousRefuge Linked In: Promise, George Strompolos, Curious Refuge View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/promise-acquires-curious-refuge-to-empower-and-discover-generative-ai-storytellers-worldwide-302382859.html SOURCE Promise Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

AI Entertainment Studio Promise Acquires Tech-Centric Film School Curious Refuge (Exclusive)

Major Shake Up Coming to MSNBC Lineup as Channel Preps Programming Reset Promise, the entertainment studio that launched last year with a mandate to build a slate of films and series produced with the help of generative artificial intelligence tools, has made its first acquisition. The studio, led by CEO George Strompolos, has acquired Curious Refuge, an AI film school that hosts online courses and real-life meetups, workshops and partnerships meant to teach film students, filmmakers and others in the entertainment ecosystem how to use AI tools in their work. "One of the things that we really stressed when we announced the company is that we're building this studio from the ground up," Strompolos tells The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. "We think this is such a transformational moment in entertainment that it demands really starting from scratch, and we're building Promise in the era of generative AI around this new technology, and specifically around the artists who know how to harness this technology. "The reality is, these are a new set of skills, and there aren't that many people that have these skills yet," he continued. "And so there's this need to have production talent who are well versed in what's possible, in generative AI." Caleb Ward, the co-founder of Curious Refuge, says that his company has worked with over 4,000 people from 171 countries since its founding in 2020. "It all started with our AI filmmaking course, and since then, we've developed courses: We have AI animation, AI advertising, AI documentary, and then we just launched our advanced AI filmmaking course," Ward says. "So we basically are a resource for creative artists to come in and learn the latest techniques and contextualize them into practical workloads. "Not only do you have Academy Award winners, Emmy winners, like people who are really excelling in the traditional storytelling world, you also have people from around the world who normally did not have a seat at the table and are able to express their creative voice," Ward says of his company's users and alumni. Promise believes that Curious Refuge can help build a pipeline of both talent and skills that can help it achieve its goal of becoming a fully-fledged studio. Creators who learn skills from Curious Refuge may be considered for roles on Promise projects, for example. "We said, 'okay, this is something special,'" Strompolos says of Curious Refuge. "It can be a place to train talent, to identify new talent, and to support the industry at large, and to help open doors for for this talent, whether that's at Promise, working on our original productions or on projects across the industry." "In joining Promise, we really feel like this is going to open up more opportunities for our students to showcase their skills that they're learning in both that promise and the industry at large," Ward adds. Promise launched last year, with Peter Chernin's The North Road and Andrew Chen's a16z among its financial backers. Terms of the Curious Refuge acquisition were not disclosed. But the central premise of Promise is that gen AI tech can help turbocharge the creation of films, series, and short-form content. But given how fast-moving the technology is, every stakeholder in the industry needs to stay abreast of the latest advancements and how they can fit into the day-to-day work of creative development and production. "As a studio, we're figuring out what we feel is a new, efficient pipeline to produce a great product," Strompolos says. "And the reality is, it's pretty complicated right now, but we think over time, we're going to turn that into something that's efficient and collaborative and artist-led, and can can lead us to producing the high quality that we're striving for."