Utopai Studios today announced that Basketball Hall of Famer and
entrepreneur Carmelo Anthony, through his production company Creative 7, has become a
strategic partner in the company and will work with Utopai Studios to expand its work with
professional athletes, with a focus on developing original sports and entertainment intellectual
property using PAI, Utopai Studios’ proprietary cinematic storytelling AI.
Through the initiative, Anthony, alongside business partner and co-founder of Creative 7, Asani
Swann, will work with Utopai Studios to help bring professional athletes and sports-related
opportunities into original projects across film, television, streaming and digital platforms. The
effort reflects a broader expansion of Utopai Studios’ work with talent across sports and
entertainment and combines the company’s expertise in cinematic AI, production and
intellectual property development with the creative vision of athletes and other creators.
“We’re excited to partner with Utopai Studios. What stood out to me wasn’t just how advanced
the technology is, but the vision and intention behind it,” said Carmelo Anthony. “Sports has
always been grounded in real human stories that can translate to powerful entertainment IP, but
bringing those stories to life hasn’t always been easy. PAI changes that. It gives us a more
accessible way to create and build something with long-term value.”
“With this partnership, we see a clear opportunity to develop sports-driven ideas rooted in
authentic storytelling into original entertainment properties at scale,” said Asani Swann. “With
Utopai Studios, we’re combining technology, production expertise, and creative infrastructure to
move those ideas seamlessly into film, television, streaming, and digital platforms – faster and
with greater creative control.”
“Carmelo and Asani immediately understood that this is bigger than using AI to make content
faster,” said Cecilia Shen, Co-Founder and CEO of Utopai Studios. “We are building a new
studio system for the AI era, one that gives creators, athletes and talent a more direct path to
develop original IP while preserving authorship, ownership and creative control. With Creative 7
and PAI, we can help turn powerful athlete-driven stories into entertainment properties built for
film, television, streaming, animation and digital audiences.”
The announcement follows Utopai Studios’ recent work with professional athletes, including its
project with James Harden on an AI-animated short created with PAI, and reflects the
company’s continued expansion into sports-driven entertainment IP. One of the first projects
under the initiative will be an anime-inspired entertainment property developed around
Anthony’s world, drawing on defining moments from his career, his point of view and the
broader culture surrounding the game. The initial rollout is expected to include a recurring short-
form series and behind-the-scenes content tied to Anthony’s creative involvement, serving as an
early example of how Utopai Studios plans to work with athletes on original sports and
entertainment IP.
Utopai Studios is building a new kind of global entertainment company designed for the AI era.
The company combines proprietary AI infrastructure with real integration into Hollywood and
global entertainment ecosystems, creating the next evolution of the studio system. Utopai
Studios is founded on the same principles that have always defined successful entertainment
businesses: compelling stories, valuable intellectual property, world-class talent, financing,
production, distribution and audience demand. The difference is that Utopai embeds AI directly
into the operating core of studio production, transforming it from an external tool into
foundational infrastructure that increases speed, efficiency, scalability and creative opportunity.
At the center of this model is PAI, Utopai Studios’ proprietary cinematic narrative AI system and
the core engine of its AI-native production ecosystem. Purpose-built for professional
entertainment workflows, PAI supports the full lifecycle of content creation, including
development, visualization, scene planning, continuity management, editing, localization and
delivery. Rather than operating outside the creative process, PAI is integrated within it, allowing
creators, studios and media partners to work within a system that mirrors traditional Hollywood
production while expanding what can be made, how quickly it can be produced and how
efficiently it can scale worldwide.
About Utopai Studios
Utopai Studios is building the next evolution of the global studio system for the AI era. The company combines
original IP development, production expertise, talent partnerships and proprietary AI infrastructure to create and scale
stories across film, television, streaming, animation and digital platforms. At the center of its model is PAI, Utopai
Studios’ cinematic storytelling artificial general intelligence system, which supports professional entertainment
workflows across development, visualization, scene planning, continuity management, editing, localization and
delivery. As storytelling evolves beyond passive viewing into experiences that are increasingly adaptive, participatory,
personal and global in reach, Utopai Studios is building a studio model designed to protect authorship, expand
creative opportunity and bring ambitious projects to market faster and more efficiently. The company’s international
footprint includes Utopai East, its wholly owned subsidiary in Korea, and Utopai GmbH in Germany, reflecting its
expanding presence across key global markets. For more information, visit www.utopaistudios.com.
About Creative 7 Productions
Creative 7 is a global, multi-platform content company producing purpose-driven projects spanning film, television,
documentary, animation, audio and digital content that speaks to the evolution of the human spirit through adversity,
social activism, and compelling, entertainment-forward storytelling. Spurred by a passion for inclusive and intentional
content, Basketball Hall of Famer and entrepreneur Carmelo Anthony and his longtime business partner and co-
founder of Creative 7, Asani Swann, established the company to champion the narratives and voices that for too long
have gone unheard. Agnostic of genre or platform, Creative 7 is a force propelling groundbreaking, uplifting—and, at
times—heartbreaking stories for change to a global audience. Creative 7 has a slate of projects in various stages of
development and production that uniquely champion diversity, social impact, and aim to serve as true catalysts for
change in an unprecedented time where the world needs it now more than ever before.
