Masoud Loghmani launches Studio Jadu for AI animation
The former YouTube and TikTok monetisation executive is backing solo artists and small teams with an AI production tool, and sharing the revenue their shows earn.
Key takeaways
- Studio Jadu, an AI-powered animation studio, launched on 30 September 2026 with backing from Khosla Ventures and Shakti VC.
- Its production tool, AIDA, turns an artist's script into animation while leaving creative decisions with the artist.
- Founder and CEO Masoud Loghmani previously built and scaled creator monetisation products at YouTube and TikTok.
- The studio's Pioneer Program is accepting applications, with stated interest in anime-inspired projects, and the studio already runs a YouTube audience of more than 2.5 million subscribers.
Studio Jadu, an animation studio built to back independent artists rather than employ them, launched on 30 September with funding from Khosla Ventures and Shakti VC and a production tool it calls AIDA. The company is based in San Mateo, California.
Its founder and CEO, Masoud Loghmani, spent years at YouTube and TikTok building and scaling the monetisation products that pay creators. Animation World Network reported that the studio supports its artists on distribution, marketing, fandom development and monetisation, and that artists share in the revenue their work earns.
The tool is the AI Director's Assistant, shortened to AIDA. In the company's own description, it turns an artist's script into animation while keeping creative decisions with the artist, and is positioned against prompt-to-video tools that generate work automatically. Studio Jadu calls it a creative soundboard for creators bringing a labour of love to fans.
Three shows are named as examples: The Future Was Awesome, a comedy from the four-time Emmy winner Fred Graver; Sentinels, a thriller; and SDF, a supernatural mystery. The studio says it has already built a YouTube audience of more than 2.5 million subscribers.
The commercial model is the part worth watching. Animation has been the most labour-intensive corner of the creator economy, and the pitch here is not cheaper episodes but retained ownership and a revenue share for artists who would otherwise need a studio's permission to make a show at all.
"At Studio Jadu, we're backing creators with the tools they need to bring their stories to life while retaining artistic control," Loghmani said in the announcement.
Applications for the Pioneer Program are open now. The studio says it is particularly interested in anime-inspired projects and in creators who intend to direct their own work, and that selected artists get AIDA along with marketing, distribution and monetisation support.
No revenue-share percentages and no show release dates have been published.
Sources
- globenewswire.com - the company's launch release, the tool, the shows and the funding
- awn.com - independent trade coverage of the launch and the Pioneer Program
- studiojadu.com - the studio's own site and programme details