CRISTÓBAL VALENZUELA is no stranger to weird, scary creatures. As cofounder and CEO of Runway, a five-year-old New York City startup that develops AI tools for video, his company's product has brought to life a parade of surreal on-screen characters, from shape-shifting dolls that melt into walls to dancing giants with contorted faces.
When I talk to Valenzuela on a winter afternoon, the conversation is about why some scary creatures-even the most menacing giants-aren't really scary if you know how to destroy them.
"Sometimes a sling and a stone is all you need," Valenzuela tells me.
We're talking about slings and stones because of the imposing shadow stretching over Valenzuela's company. Days before our chat, OpenAI, the $86 billion, Microsoft-backed juggernaut of generative AI, unveiled its latest creation: a text-to-video tool called Sora that essentially does what Runway does; in some cases, maybe better.
As with Runway's product, Sora lets users type a description of a scene into their computer-a woman walking along a puddlefilled street, for instance, or a fire-breathing dragon in flight-and within moments watch a video that looks as if it were produced in Hollywood.
Sora's buzzy unveiling caused instant speculation about the tidal wave of change headed for the entertainment industry. As if on cue, filmmaker Tyler Perry said he was putting on hold a planned $800 million expansion of his Atlanta production studio because of Sora. By late March, OpenAI execs were reportedly setting up meetings with studio execs and talent agencies to discuss how to use the tool.
Bu hikaye Fortune US dergisinin April - May 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Fortune US dergisinin April - May 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Inside the Cult of Costco
The retailer's hundreds of warehouse stores are overstuffed and overwhelming-and that's all by design. We delve into the method behind the madness that turns shoppers into obsessives.
A Disastrous Hack
The health care industry is still recovering from a cyberattack that shut down insurance payments and stole a third of Americans' health data.
The Death of the American Pharmacy
Bartell's, a beloved Seattle drugstore now owned by debt-laden Rite Aid, is closing many of its locations. Its demise is the latest symptom of a national health care crisis that hurts all of us.
The Vigilance of Satya Nadella
Ten years in as CEO, Nadella has turned Microsoft into the world's most valuable company and one of the top players in Al. He's navigated two sweeping tech transformations. His biggest worry is that he won't see the next one coming.
Walmart's Mr. Fix-It
When Doug McMillon became CEO in 2014, Walmart's sales had stagnated, and customers were defecting to Amazon in droves. Over the next 10 years, he built an e-commerce powerhouse-and extended Walmart's ironfisted hold on the Fortune 500's No. 1 spot. Can McMillon and the big-box giant stay on top in a digital age?
A 70-Year Journey in the Fortune 500 Time Machine
The 1955 list, our first-ever ranking of U.S. companies by revenue, reveals a lot about how American business once saw itself. It also shows how dramatically the economy and the list have changed.
TRAVEL BLURRING THE LINES OF FITNESS AND LUXURY AMID THE SCI-FI GLITZ OF DUBAI
GO ON VACATION.
INVEST AVIATION STOCKS ARE A BARGAIN.ARE THEY WORTH THE TURBULENCE?
IN RECENT MONTHS, Boeing's share price has fallen almost as fast as its aircraft parts have tumbled from the sky.
HEALTH THE BEST GAME PLAN FOR YOUR BRAIN AS YOU AGE
SIXTY-TWO-YEAR-OLD founder Marie Jerusalem has never felt more able to adapt to the changing demands of the corporate world. \"My body's not as agile as it used to be, but mentally I'm stronger today than I've probably ever been in my entire career,\" she tells Fortune.
TECH SILICON VALLEY STARTUPS ARE INVADING THE MILITARY MARKET
AT THE END of February 2022-a few days after cofounders Luke Allen and Steven Simoni sold their 90-person restaurant-tech startup to DoorDash― Russia invaded Ukraine.