As reported by TheVerge and ChosunBiz, recent job listings by Netflix reveal that the company has launched a new in-house “genAI-native” animation studio called INKubator, also referred to as INK. Although the company hasn’t announced specific plans publicly yet, the studio was quietly established in March, aiming to produce animated content using generative AI technology and workflows.
Helmed by former DreamWorks Animation strategy and operations lead Serrena Iyer, INKubator is currently recruiting for a wide range of roles, including producers, technical directors, software engineers, and CG artists. According to the listings, the animation studio will initially focus on producing short-form animated content, but plans to expand to “longer-form” and “feature-quality” content too at some point.
In response to inquiries by Cartoon Brew, Netflix has described INKubator as an initiative that will provide its creators with an “artist-focused environment to experiment in, where they can explore how new tools and workflows, alongside traditional animation creative practices, can be leveraged to enhance their storytelling capabilities.” Additionally, the company stressed that films produced at Netflix Animation Studios (which funded KPop Demon Hunters and produced Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) will “continue to use traditional animation techniques,” which suggests the new studio is a means to experiment with gen-AI animation production in a separate environment.
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