Creative Artists Agency Invests in Moonvalley to Build Hollywood‑Friendly AI Video Tools

CAA joins a $84 million funding round for Moonvalley’s Marey platform, aligning with a growing push for licensed, ethical AI tools in filmmaking and Hollywood’s fight against unauthorized generative content.

Attributed to Freepik

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has formally entered the AI video arena, participating in Moonvalley’s recent $84 million funding round alongside investors like General Catalyst, Comcast Ventures, CoreWeave, Khosla Ventures, and Y Combinator. The investment, announced July 14, brings Moonvalley’s total funding to $154 million and reinforces Hollywood’s shift toward AI tools built with legal and creative integrity in mind.

Moonvalley, founded by ex‑DeepMind scientists, recently publicly launched Marey, a production-grade video generation model trained exclusively on licensed footage. Co‑founders CEO Naeem Talukdar and CTO Mateusz Malinowski emphasize Marey’s “licensed data-first” architecture as a clean alternative to models trained on scraped internet content—a crucial distinction following high-profile lawsuits from studios like Disney and Universal alleging unauthorized use of copyrighted material.

As Alexandra Shannon, CAA’s Head of Strategic Development, remarked: “Ethically led and talent‑friendly applications of AI are a top priority for CAA.” The talent agency — representing major celebrities, directors, and creators — appears committed to aligning with tools that ensure creative control remains with artists, not algorithms.

Also noteworthy: CAA’s investment signals more than financing—it offers Moonvalley direct access to Hollywood’s top-tier talent and studio clients, accelerating Marey’s adoption in filmmaking circles. Moonvalley already operates a filmmaking arm, Asteria Film Co., co-founded with Natasha Lyonne, that has been testing Marey’s capabilities on documentary projects and concept development.

The latest round aims to build out enterprise features, including API access and workflow tools tailored for professional pipelines. Moonvalley also plans to expand its rights-cleared content library—critical as it positions Marey as the industry's first commercially safe AI video platform.

Moonvalley’s development model contrasts sharply with competitors like Runway, Google’s Veo 3, and OpenAI’s Sora, which face increasing scrutiny over the use of unlicensed training data. By training exclusively on footage licensed from independent filmmakers and archives, Marey skirts the copyright risks that plague other generative video tools.

For Hollywood creators and studios, the implications are significant. The platform offers cinematic-level output for background plates, visual effects pre-vis, and B-roll generation—often at much lower cost than traditional production. Pilot users report production savings of 20–40%, while still maintaining human oversight and editorial control over final frames.

At the same time, Hollywood unions and guilds view the shift toward licensed AI as a step in the right direction. Recent contracts—including SAG‑AFTRA protections for voice likeness in games and the WGA’s push for writer rights—underscore performers and creators demanding transparency, consent, and profit-sharing in any AI-enabled applications.

Moonvalley believes Marey fills that gap. Talukdar has stated the tool is “not meant to replace artists—it’s meant to empower them,” echoing the language of hybrid AI filmmaking. By working with A-list filmmakers, offering frame-by-frame editing, motion and camera control, and guaranteeing IP-safe models, Marey may offer a blueprint for responsible AI deployment in content creation.

Looking ahead, Moonvalley plans to roll out video features like fine lighting adjustments, character libraries, and deep object motion control—responding directly to requests from studio partners involved in the pilot program.

While questions remain—such as how credits or awards bodies will evaluate AI-assisted projects, or how revenue-sharing might work for content created with Marey—CAA’s participation sends a clear signal: the future of generative AI in Hollywood lies not in unchecked automation, but in tools that respect creative origin, legal clarity, and performer rights.