Just as AWS enabled startups to build products before seeking VC funding, YouTube allows creators to build an audience and prove their filmmaking skills. Hollywood can now invest in creators with demonstrated traction and finished work, not just ideas on paper.
Successful YouTubers prove their artistic vision and production skills on their channels, acting like a startup with a proven product seeking Series A funding. This de-risks new IP for Hollywood studios, proving more valuable than a large but passive subscriber base.
The success of 'Backrooms,' which grew from an internet myth around a single photo, proves valuable IP can be developed organically online. This shifts the model from studio-driven creation to studio-led acquisition of pre-validated, internet-native franchises.
Instead of risking $100M+ on one blockbuster, studios can fund numerous low-budget films from proven creators. The massive ROI from one hit like 'Obsession' can cover the costs of many failures, mirroring a VC's "fund returner" model.
Despite his safety concerns, Sanders' proposal to create a sovereign wealth fund from a 50% tax on AI labs frames them as future economic titans. This suggests a belief that their value will be so immense it can fund public dividends, revealing an underlying pro-AGI perspective.
Anthropic's S-1 filing, coupled with IPO rumors for SpaceX and OpenAI, indicates a strategic rush among tech's most valuable private firms to access public funds. This is likely driven by the immense capital required for AI development and a desire to capture investor enthusiasm first.