Dubai – Sharikat Mubasher: Dubai-based Popcorn AI Studio, an artificial intelligence platform for video and film production, announced it has secured $1 million in funding led by Emirati entrepreneur and investor Mohammed Bin Bouta Alharsoosi to develop its technology and accelerate international expansion.

As per a recent press release, the company plans to use the funding to expand its product offerings, grow its user base across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, and establish partnerships to support its global ambitions.

Founded by Egyptian entrepreneurs Shady Essam and Mohamed Hedar, the platform enables filmmakers, brands, agencies, and content creators to produce cinematic videos using generative AI tools.

The platform integrates several production capabilities, including concept development, character creation, scene generation, commercial video production, and multilingual content creation. It also offers Arabic lip-sync technology and regional dialect support to address language and localization needs in the Middle East.

As part of its efforts to promote AI-powered storytelling, Popcorn has also announced an AI filmmaking competition linked to the El Gouna Film Festival, with a $70,000 prize pool.

Commenting on this, Shady Essam, Co-Founder and CEO of Popcorn AI Studio, said the company's goal is to make filmmaking more accessible by reducing the financial and technical barriers to production, rather than replacing filmmakers.