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AI-native film studio TakeTwo hits Rs 100 crore valuation in pre-seed round
BENGALURU: TakeTwo is betting that the future of Indian cinema will be written by algorithms as much as auteurs. The AI-native film studio has raised pre-seed funding at a valuation of Rs 100 crore, drawing backing from US-based Afore Capital and Canada’s Inovia VC, as investors warm to artificial intelligence transforming visual storytelling.
Founded in 2025, TakeTwo is building a full-stack, AI-powered film studio that embeds artificial intelligence directly into professional production workflows. The aim is audacious but simple: enable directors and production houses to create complex, VFX-heavy cinematic worlds at a fraction of today’s cost and time.
The capital will be used to strengthen technical infrastructure and scale TakeTwo’s team of “creative technologists”, as the company positions itself as a core technology partner for India’s film industry at a time when AI adoption across production is accelerating.
Founded by Rudresh Upadhyaya and Raghav Katta, TakeTwo was conceived in a shared room during Y Combinator’s AI Startup School. The founders, blending startup experience with a passion for cinema, set out to solve what they describe as the industry’s biggest choke point: spiralling VFX costs and punishing timelines that constrain creative ambition.
Unlike conventional AI software vendors, TakeTwo operates as a full-stack studio. It executes VFX-heavy sequences, stylised inserts and surreal environments while ensuring outputs integrate seamlessly into standard colour grading and editing pipelines. The company serves both large production houses and independent filmmakers, widening access to high-end visual capabilities.
“Our objective is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI research and the rigorous demands of professional cinema,” said Upadhyaya. “This valuation is a testament to the immediate value we are providing to filmmakers who need to scale their visual ambitions without the constraints of traditional timelines.”
The founders are keen to draw a distinction between TakeTwo and typical SaaS platforms. The studio positions itself as a creative partner rather than a peripheral tool, combining AI expertise with deep understanding of cinematic craft. The scale and complexity of India’s film industry also provide what the company describes as a rich data advantage, enabling the training of custom AI agents tailored to local production needs.
The timing is favourable. India’s media and entertainment market, valued at about $30 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $48 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of roughly 9.8 per cent. Within that, animation and VFX alone are expected to touch $2.2 billion by 2026.
Globally, momentum is even sharper. The AI video market, estimated at $3.86 billion in 2024, is forecast to swell to $42 billion by 2033, expanding at a CAGR of 32 per cent, according to Grand View Research.
TakeTwo says it is already collaborating with several leading Indian directors, embedding its AI-native pipelines into mainstream productions to create high-fidelity visual IP with reduced overhead. While the studio currently relies on advanced APIs, it plans to deploy proprietary AI agents customised for the nuances of Indian cinematography.
With backing from Afore Capital, the world’s largest pre-seed venture firm, and Inovia VC, the company plans to expand its technical and creative footprint across India and overseas markets.
As production budgets climb and audience expectations rise, Indian cinema is under pressure to deliver spectacle without excess. TakeTwo is wagering that AI can square that equation. If it succeeds, the next era of filmmaking may be less about stretching budgets, and more about stretching imagination.
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OpenAI hires Nitin Bawankule as head of enterprise sales, India
Former AWS, Google and Disney+ Hotstar leader to drive AI adoption at scale
MUMBAI: OpenAI has appointed Nitin Bawankule as head of enterprise sales for India, strengthening its leadership bench as it deepens its push into one of the world’s fastest-growing AI markets.
Bawankule, who will join in mid-May, brings more than two decades of experience across cloud, media, and digital ecosystems. Most recently, he served at Amazon Web Services, where he led multiple high-growth verticals and helped accelerate enterprise adoption of cloud and AI solutions in India.
Announcing the move, OpenAI head of enterprise sales, India Nitin Bawankule said he is looking forward to helping organisations transition from “isolated AI pilots to company-wide transformation” and embedding AI into everyday workflows to unlock productivity and better decision-making.
Before AWS, Bawankule held senior leadership roles at The Walt Disney Company, where he led ad sales for Disney+ Hotstar and television networks, driving revenue growth across major sporting and entertainment properties. He also spent over eight years at Google, including a stint as country director for Google Cloud in India.
His appointment comes at a time when Indian enterprises are rapidly scaling AI adoption, moving beyond experimentation to integrating AI into core business functions. OpenAI’s decision to bring in a seasoned enterprise leader signals its intent to capture this opportunity and build deeper partnerships across industries.
With a strong track record in navigating major technology shifts, Bawankule is expected to play a key role in translating AI’s promise into practical, business-ready solutions for Indian companies.
As the race to operationalise AI gathers pace, OpenAI’s latest hire suggests it is gearing up not just to participate, but to lead from the front in India’s enterprise AI story.
