India and Utah race to build AI studios

Global AI film investment accelerated, with India and Utah each announcing major studio bets. The announcements signal a shift: AI is attracting capital to regions and contexts where traditional indie production couldn't.

Abundantia Entertainment and InVideo launched aiON, a ₹100 crore (~$11.5M USD) AI-driven film studio producing five films over three years. Announced at India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the slate includes mythology-focused titles like Chiranjeevi Hanuman and Jai Santoshi Mata.

Vikram Malhotra, Abundantia's founder, framed AI as the next major leap in cinema: "Every major leap in cinema, from sound to colour to digital. Each has expanded storytelling possibility."

The bottleneck, studios are learning, isn't technology. It's talent: finding filmmakers willing to experiment with AI-native workflows.

Meanwhile, Utah approved a $2 million grant for Nuovo Film Festival, positioning the state as an AI filmmaking hub. The investment funds a "film ecosystem" including an AI filmmaking lab, AI soundstage, state incentive programs, and film education initiatives.

The board includes Mark Burnett (former MGM Television chief), Gordon Bowen (McGarryBowen founder), Geralyn Dreyfous (Impact Partners co-founder), and Jim Swartz (Accel Venture Capital founder). The context: Sundance is leaving Utah. The state is betting AI filmmaking becomes its replacement identity.

Worth noting: Different scales ($11.5M vs. $2M), different contexts (Bollywood-adjacent vs. post-Sundance positioning), same thesis. Two regions with different film traditions making the same bet: that AI production infrastructure is worth building before the market proves it.