AI-based content company Acaine Co., Ltd. (CEO Jeong Ui-seok) announced on the 11th that it has signed a strategic business cooperation agreement with global content platform Spoonlabs Co., Ltd. (CEO Choi Hyuk-jae) and secured a seed investment from Spoonlabs. The funds will be used as core capital for producing short-form dramas to be supplied exclusively to the short-drama platform ‘Vigloo’ operated by Spoonlabs.

As the global short-form drama market is growing explosively, centered on China and the United States, the plan is to elevate Korea to the center of the short-form drama market in line with its status as a content powerhouse.

Acaine is a company jointly founded by producers, directors, writers, and technology firms representing the Korean content industry, led by CEO Jeong Ui-seok, who invested in the production of the films ‘The Chaser’ and ‘The Outlaws’.

Beyond content production, it is developing next-generation content businesses on multiple fronts, including discovering and nurturing AI video directors and creators, building AI-based video production tools, running digital portrait rights (IP) businesses for stars and creators, and establishing AI content operations infrastructure.

Shareholders have joined forces, including Kit Project Co., Ltd., the producer of the Netflix global No. 1 series ‘All of Us Are Dead’ and ‘Daily Dose of Sunshine’; producer Jang Jin-seung of the film ‘Land of Happiness’; producer Park Je-hoon of the drama ‘Goryeo-Khitan War’; writer Jung Hyeong-su of ‘Damo’, ‘Jumong’, and ‘Oasis’; and KOSDAQ-listed M83 Co., Ltd., which handled visual effects (VFX) for major titles such as ‘Parasite’, ‘Sweet Home 2,3’, and ‘You Have Done Well’.

With global content platform company Spoonlabs now joining as a shareholder, the push to strengthen competitiveness in the short-form drama and AI-based content markets has accelerated.

Starting next year, Acaine will operate an ultra-fast·large-scale production system, ‘Chopstick Studio’, capable of producing more than 40 short-form drama series annually. Unlike large-scale production methods centered on broadcast and OTT, it streamlines the production process and applies generative AI visual effects, leveraging AI technologies such as ‘face swap’ that replace the face of an actor to dramatically reduce production time and costs.

Acaine explains that it will also maximize production efficiency and gain additional cost savings through a high-volume strategy enabled by the shortened production period.

In particular, the collaboration with Spoonlabs, which recently unveiled a ‘Full-AI’ short-form drama, focuses on integrating Acaine know-how with its technology stackdigital humans, AI editing, and story automation enginesto achieve overwhelmingly lower costs and faster production speeds than conventional studios.

Beyond traditional short-form dramas with an intuitive, fast pace, Acaine plans to roll out a variety of short-form formats in stages, including premium short-form dramas featuring global top-tier crews, short-form sitcoms, and AI short-form animation series.

Acaine CEO Jeong Ui-seok said, “Short-form drama is the fastest-growing segment in the global content market and the ideal arena to apply a new production model that combines the creativity of Korean film and drama crews with AI-based production technology,” and added, “Through collaboration with Spoonlabs, we aim to lead the short-form drama market and establish the standard for a Korea-style studio, thereby building a well-defined, sustainable ecosystem unique to short-form drama.”

Spoonlabs CEO Choi Hyuk-jae said, “Acaine’s content production capabilities, industry network, and AI-based video production pipeline form a combination with high growth potential in the global short-form market,” adding, “This collaboration will simultaneously increase the efficiency and scalability of content production, providing an important foundation for Korean short-form drama to secure sustainable competitiveness in the global market.”