Eline van der Velden, Founder and CEO of London-based AI production company Particle6, has launched Xicoia, which has been billed as the world’s first AI talent studio designed to create, manage, and monetise digital stars.
Xicoia will focus on creating talent for use in everything from film and TV productions to podcasts, TikTok, YouTube, brand campaigns, video games, and interactions with fans.
Building on the proprietary avatar personality engine DeepFame, which was developed by Particle6, Xicoia is developing a portfolio of AI personas with their own backstories, distinct voices, and personalities. Xicoia declared that the characters can engage in unscripted conversations, perform monologues, and respond to trends in real time. Overall, the company aims to create more than 40 AI personas.
Xicoia stated that it is also working with several Hollywood stars who wish to appear on screen as their younger or current selves. Beyond this, the company is collaborating with estates to bring legendary performers back to the big screen.
Van der Velden said: “With Xicoia, we’re creating the first studio where AI-driven talent isn’t just a gimmick – it’s living, performing IP with depth, humour, and narrative arcs. We believe the next generation of cultural icons will be synthetic: stars that never tire, never age, and can interact with fans. But just like the best entertainment companies, the key isn’t the technology – it’s the storytelling and the people behind those stories.”
The first of these characters, named Tilly Norwood, has already soft-launched on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. However, the AI character has been met with a backlash on social media, amid concerns that it might threaten the livelihoods of real actors.
In response, Van der Velden added: “I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool – a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself, and nothing – certainly not an AI character – can take away the craft or joy of human performance.”
Adrian Pennington recently investigated how agentic AI could reshape the media landscape. Discover more here.
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