Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick – known for kneeling during the national anthem – is launching an AI comic book publishing company called Lumi.
The details include that Kaepernick raised $4 million from venture capital led by Seven Seven Six, alongside Kapor Capital and Impellent Ventures, and notable angel investors like Mariam Naficy (founder of Minted), David Sze, Chamillionaire, and tech execs from Meta, Anthropic, ContextualAI, Sleeper, Pave and more.
“Transforming any creator into Disney”
In a press release, Lumi says, “Stories are fundamental to shaping our reality and better understanding our world. Currently, a few large corporations dominate the narrative landscape, limiting the diversity of stories told. Lumi aims to open the funnel, enabling anyone to access storytelling superpowers, ultimately fostering a more inclusive and equitable world. Stories don’t exist without creators, and we all suffer when creators can’t bring their stories to life.”
The press release continues, “Lumi’s mission is to democratize storytelling by providing tools for creators to turn their ideas into finished products, as well as distributing and merchandising those stories – transforming any creator into Disney. By leveraging advanced AI tools, Lumi enhances the creative process, allowing creators to focus on bringing their stories to life, while the platform handles all of the logistics. Creators have had a significant impact on AI, and they should be a primary beneficiary of its use.”
“Resulting content reflects diverse and authentic perspectives”
The press release adds, “Creators today face significant challenges, including exploitation and lack of independence. Lumi addresses these issues by providing an end-to-end solution for storytelling, leading to more financial stability, creative control, and ownership of their work. Additionally, as AI continues to evolve, it is essential to ensure that the resulting content reflects diverse and authentic perspectives. By empowering creators to authentically create their stories, Lumi helps ensure a more equitable future for AI.”
The press release also says, “Lumi was founded out of the barriers that Kaepernick discovered publishing his own works. This included high production costs, long production timelines, and gatekeeping within the industry. These challenges generate significant friction for creators, preventing many projects from getting off the ground. By decreasing the barrier to entry, Lumi opens the funnel of creativity to the world, enabling a new wave of diverse and innovative stories to come to life.”
How does Lumi work?
How exactly Lumi works remains to be seen: Is it only the digital publishing of comics and/or does it provide a print version? Who owns the rights to the work produced through the service? Does the service take a percentage? Does the service cost anything?
The comic book market isn’t also that big and things like digital comics and NFTs haven’t been a success. The print market also hasn’t been what it once was as both Marvel Comics and DC Comics aren’t what they used to be. So is AI-generated comics the next big thing? $4 million also isn’t a lot of money, especially when it comes to the tech industry.
Comic book and graphic-novel creators first
The press release also says Lumi “plans to focus energy on comic book and graphic-novel creators first.”
What creators are going to get onboard unless there is some sort of upfront money or payment? The industry and fans are already against AI-generated content and feel it’s a stab in the back. What happens when art looks exactly like Jim Lee’s art but it’s AI-generated?
Colin Kaepernick, himself, is also a controversial figure. Why didn’t he just use the money to create a real comic book publishing company?
“Empowers creators to work freely and independently”
Maybe’s it’s because the investor, Seven Seven Six, already tried that and failed with Zestworld which tried to capitalize on the “success” of comic book creators who worked with the company and saw their projects turned into collectibles or adapted for TV, movies or other media. It sounds like Lumi is trying to do the same and thinks going the AI route will have more success on a larger scale since nobody has to do the work.
“Lumi addresses an unnecessary dependency on gatekeepers that slows creators down,” said Kaepernick, Founder & CEO of Lumi, in the press release. “This allows creators to get back to what they ultimately want to do: create. The platform empowers creators to work freely and independently, deciding when and how they want to collaborate with others. This independence is crucial for fostering a vibrant and diverse creative ecosystem.”
“Gathered valuable insights from creators”
“The timing for this venture is perfect, as recent technological advancements have made it possible to realize Lumi’s vision,” said Cristina Apple Georgoulakis, Partner at Seven Seven Six. “Colin and the Lumi team have gathered valuable insights from creators about their concerns and needs, including the desire for control over their work and financial sustainability. We believe Lumi is the perfect solution to a problem that has existed for decades.”
(Editor’s note: All the images in this article are AI-generated through Midjourney on Discord)
