Hans Ku Joins Utopai Studios as Chief Product Officer

Ku will oversee product, engineering, research and business development at Utopai, and lead efforts to expand the technology and production platform PAI across the studio’s film and television projects. He will answer to CEO Cecilia Shen.

Ku was vice president of AI and engineering within Disney’s technology enablement division. He helped connect Disney and OpenAI teams during their short-lived agreement involving Disney characters and OpenAI’s Sora video generator. Earlier, he held roles at Disney’s feature animation division and DreamWorks Animation, as well as at Tubi, Yahoo and Flipagram.

At Disney Feature Animation, Ku developed a system to support traditional animators. At DreamWorks, he worked with HP on the DreamColor display, receiving a technical achievement honor from the film academy.

Shen said Ku’s experience developing creative technology would help Utopai expand its infrastructure. Ku said he plans to build PAI with filmmakers, using lessons from productions to improve tools and workflows while leaving creative decisions with artists.

Utopai, founded in 2022, raised $60 million at a $1 billion valuation in October. Its slate includes the Antonio Banderas-led live-action film “Cortés,” an AI-assisted animated adaptation of “The Most Serious Fart,” and a fully AI-generated project with Chinese production company Huace. “Cortés,” “The Most Serious Fart” and “Half Moon” are slated for release next year.