UK-based Wonder Studios, a production company specialising in generative AI video creation, has secured $12m in a fundraising round.
Wonder was launched in April 2025 by Xavier Collins, a former executive at Deliveroo and Turo, and Justin Hackney, a former Creative Director at speech synthesis company ElevenLabs.
According to Wonder, it has generated significant revenue through high-profile collaborations and original productions since launching.
Highlights include an AI-powered music video for Lewis Capaldi’s “Something in the Heavens”, created with Google DeepMind, YouTube, and Universal Music Group.
The studio also launched “Beyond the Loop,” its first original anthology series, co-produced with ElevenLabs, Freepik, Fal, and Kling AI. This series includes four short films created with AI.
The £12m fundraise in Wonder Studios was led by Atomico, alongside existing investors LocalGlobe and Blackbird.
Wonder has also secured backing from: tech giant Adobe Ventures; entertainment executives, such as Erik Huggers, Chairman of Freepik of EveryoneTV and former CEO of Vevo; media and marketing executives, including Nigel Morris, former CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network for Americas and EMEA; venture capital funds like Mercuri and Sidemen's Upside Ventures; and AI forerunners including Joaquín Cuenca Abela, CEO of Freepik, and Mati Staniszewski, CEO of ElevenLabs.
Wonder produces commercial work for brands and artists, IP partnerships with content creators, and original content production.
The AI studio plans to double its engineering team and accelerate its expansion into IP ownership and original content. Upcoming projects include a documentary with Emmy Award-winning Campfire Studios, producers of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, The Menendez Brothers, and America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
“Wonder is the entertainment studio for the new era,” said Collins. “At the heart of our vision is combining Hollywood filmmaking excellence with AI-powered creative freedom, empowering both established directors and emerging creators to tell their most ambitious stories.”
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) recently began suing AI image-generating platform Midjourney for copyright violations. Discover more here.
Macquarie to sell Arqiva stake for £16.5m
Macquarie Asset Management has agreed to the sale of its 26.5% stake in broadcast infrastructure firm Arqiva for £16.5m.
Banijay UK beefs up in-house post operations
Banijay UK will increase its in-house post-production capabilities by launching new facilities in London, doubling capacity in Glasgow, and investing in Manchester.
Spain’s LaLiga agrees €5.25bn football rights with Telefónica and DAZN
Spanish football league LaLiga has agreed a new set of domestic media contracts for more than €5.25bn, with Telefónica and DAZN retaining rights from 2027 to 2032.
BBC remains popular but “must take a firmer grip” in crises, says Ofcom
Despite funding pressures and a rapidly changing media landscape, the BBC remains popular with audiences, with 83% of UK adults using its services weekly, according to media regulator Ofcom.
TikTok and YouTube trigger influencer boom among older audiences
Older internet users are fuelling the growth of influencer videos, according to new research from Ampere Analysis, which shows that half of 55- to 64-year-olds now watch influencer content every week.
