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Maybe a lack of AI theatrical role is whatQuibigot wrong . At least , that ’s what one inauguration appear to believe .

My Dramais a Modern inadequate serial app with more than 30 show , with a absolute majority of them stick with a soap opera formatting in social club to hook looker . The app is now launching an AI - power chatbot for viewing audience to get to bed the characters in deepness , bringing it in close contest with companies like Character . AI , the a16z - backed chatbot startup .

The brusque dramatic play app was developed byHolywater , a Ukraine - based media tech startup set up by Bogdan Nesvit ( CEO ) and Anatolii Kasianov ( CTO ) . The parent company also operates a reading app calledMy Passion , in the main known for its love affair deed of conveyance .

Since its launching in April , My Drama has rapidly gained traction , boasting 1 million users and $ 3 million in receipts . Holywater has a solid cart track disk with its product , generating $ 90 million in annual recurring revenue ( ARR ) across all its offer .

Believe it or not , the brusk drama app market has taken off , much to Quibi ’s consternation . Recentapp store datashows that during the first quarter of 2024 , 66 short dramatic play apps ( ReelShort , DramaBox , and more ) accomplish phonograph record gross of $ 146 million in ball-shaped consumer spending , per app tidings firm Appfigures .

Holywater believe My Drama stands out among the progressively crowd market due to its robust library of IP . Thanks to My mania ’s thousands of books already published on the reading app , My Drama has a wealth of subject to accommodate into films . Plus , My Passion has an establish fanbase that will probably be eager to see their preferent characters come to life .

By the end of the year , My Drama plan to release 100 titles .

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The society ’s next bet will stick in AI characters that can interact with viewing audience , create an immersive storytelling experience .

Upon launch , My Drama exploiter will have the opportunity to engage with two fictional characters : Jaxon , the billionaire love interest from “ The Shy Beauty and the Billionaire Beast , ” and Hayden , the inheritor of a formidable mafia mob in “ Love Captive to a Mafia Boss . ”

After watch a few chapter of the serial publication , the viewer is prompt to chat with the graphic symbol . They can also require the fibre to send images . ( My Drama does n’t allow for NSFW substance . )

During a demonstration shared with TechCrunch , Nesvit and Kasianov walk us through what an fundamental interaction with Hayden would look like . The app channelise you to work up a kinship with him and earn his reliance ( he is a scary mafia boss , after all ) . He will quiz you on the event in the series , such as enquire about the rival work party he is aiming to defeat .

At the top of the covert is a meter measuring your ranking on Hayden ’s trust metre . The society explains this gamification tactics target to increase mesh on the platform .

The AI familiar will also be approachable via a standalone app calledMy Imagination , which is currently in beta . With the new app , users can have more personalized conversations with the characters . Further down the parentage , they ’ll even be able-bodied to create their own characters , which is Character . AI ’s metier .

It ’s deserving note that the characters Jaxon and Hayden are portrayed by real human actorsNazar GrabarandBodgan Ruban . At a fourth dimension when thespian are concerned about AI ’s impact on the industry , it ’s interesting that two thespian are unforced to give a ship’s company permission to utilise their likeness to be an AI companion . However , it ’s somewhat reassuring to recognise that they ’re being pretty compensated for it . According to Holywater , the recompense for being an AI companion can overstep their unconstipated role player pay .

Nesvit explained , “ The payment organisation consists of a fixed pace plus additional royalties . count on the act of users and the time they pass in the chat , thespian can now earn up to $ 10,000 per calendar month . The more users they attract to the chat , the high their royalty defrayment . ”

The human writer and producers at My Drama purchase AI for some aspects of scriptwriting , localization of function and part act . Notably , the company lease hundreds of actor to shoot subject , all of whom have consented to the use of their likeness for voice sampling and video coevals . My Drama utilizes several AI models , including ElevenLabs , Stable Diffusion , OpenAI and Meta ’s Llama 3 .

As many medium companies lay claim , Holywater emphasizes the fourth dimension and monetary value saved through the use of AI . For example , when filming a house fire , the party only spent around $ 100 using AI to make the video , compared to the approximately $ 8,000 it would have price without it . The use of AI enable My Drama to produce capacity in just one hebdomad .

“ Our end by the end of the year is to drop the cost to at least 40 % by using AI , ” enjoin Nesvit .

to boot , the party plan to further restate on the AI chatbot feature , adding a capacity where new scene appear after drug user interact with characters , which , in a way , allows them to play as the conscientious objector - creator for the serial publication .

It ’ll also launch telecasting and voice chatting capabilities sometime in the future . Character . AIrecently introduced the power for substance abuser to voice chat with characters .

My Drama is uncommitted on the web and oniOSandAndroiddevices . While a few episode are free to watch , the app puts the absolute majority of the episode behind a paywall . exploiter have to purchase one of its coin packs , which range from $ 2.99 to $ 19.99 per workweek , to unlock insurance premium titles , ad - innocent wake and early admittance to content .