🤖 A $900M Push for the Future of AI Video
HUMAIN teams up with Luma AI to build Project Halo | Streaming in Short – W47
This week, I cover HUMAIN and Luma joining forces on multimodal AI, Prime Video making recaps smarter and Netflix bringing party games to the living room.
🤝 HUMAIN Partners With Luma
👉 HUMAIN, backed by the Saudi fund PIF, is teaming up with Luma AI to scale multimodal AI.
📍 Luma raised $900M and the two companies are building Project Halo, a 2GW AI supercluster to power next-generation models.
💡 The partnership aims to enable smarter games, adaptive films and personalised content for creators and studios worldwide.
🎬 Prime Video Launches AI Video Recaps
👉 Prime Video introduced Video Recaps, a new AI feature that creates fast, cinematic summaries to help viewers catch up between seasons.
📍 The tool uses generative AI to pick the key plot points of a show. It then builds a short video with narration, dialogue and music. It is now available in beta for select Prime Originals in the U.S.
💡 This is Prime Video’s next step after X-Ray Recaps. It makes returning to a series easier and more accessible. Viewers can watch a recap video or choose a text summary directly on the show’s detail page.
🎮 Netflix Adds Party Games to Your TV
What happened?
👉 Netflix is launching a new collection of party games you can play on your TV using your phone as the controller.
Key details:
Titles include LEGO Party!, Pictionary: Game Night, Boggle Party, Tetris Time Warp and Party Crashers.
You simply open the Games tab on your TV, pick a game and join with your phone.
Games are designed for groups, families and friends. from quick minigames to social deduction.
Why it matters?
🎯 Netflix is making gaming as easy as streaming. This move turns Netflix into a place to watch and play during the holidays, all without switching apps.
📱MICRODRAMA: HOLYWATER Launches Its First Vertical Reality Series
HOLYWATER is releasing Love or Dare, its first unscripted vertical show. Part 1 lands today on My Drama, with Part 2 on December 12.
The series follows couples taking on emotional and physical challenges across 80 vertical episodes. It marks HOLYWATER’s move beyond microdramas into new genres as it expands its global vertical content ecosystem.
🥂 REALITY TV: AMC Launches All Reality
AMC is introducing All Reality: a new service dedicated to reality TV. It costs $4.99 on Prime Video U.S. and includes more than 2,500 hours of shows.
It is part of AMC strategy to focus on niche platforms that attract loyal viewers.
✈️ INFLIGHT: Emirates Adds Free Starlink for Full Streaming
Emirates is adding Starlink to its full fleet starting 23 November.
This means passengers can finally stream Netflix, Shahid, Prime Video or YouTube in the sky with no downloads needed.
📺 CTV: IAB MENA Releases New CTV Whitepaper
IAB MENA has released a new whitepaper about how Connected TV is growing in the region.
The paper highlights six points advertisers should know: reach, performance, premium attention, innovation, adtech and transparency.
📉 CHINA: iQIYI Revenues Down, Losses Up
iQIYI Q3 revenues fell 8% and losses increased due to weaker ads and fewer hit shows.
This pressure likely contributed to closing its MENA office as the company shifts focus to core markets.
🇦🇪 UAE: NXT Media Days MENA: Key Highlights
The event gathered streaming and advertising industries to discuss the future of video in MENA. Here are my summaries of six key sessions:
2025 in Focus: MENA Streaming Acceleration and Content Shifts
Redefining User Experience: Crafting the Optimal Personalization Strategy
🇪🇬 EGYPT: Cairo Film Festival Showcases New Arab Voices
Cairo is becoming a strong hub for discovering Arab filmmakers, with packed screenings and rising new talent.
More co-productions, more women and Gen Z directors and more stories made for local audiences are building the next wave of Arab cinema.
🎎 Last Standing Samurai, from Michihito Fujii (Netflix, 6 episodes): In the early Meiji era, Shujiro, once known as an undefeated samurai, decides to participate in a deadly survival game to save his family and villagers.
🐔 Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26, from Michihito Fujii (Prime Video, 8 episodes): Six studios and seven directors adapt the early works of Tatsuki Fujimoto, the mastermind behind “Chainsaw Man,” into an anime anthology.
🥊 10 years ago, One Punch Man premiered in Japan. Created by ONE and animated by Madhouse, the series introduced viewers to Saitama. a hero so powerful he ends every fight with a single punch. Blending sharp comedy, explosive action and a clever spin on superhero tropes, One Punch Man became an instant global hit. It redefined what an overpowered protagonist could be and turned Saitama into one of anime’s most iconic characters.
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Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend! I’ll be back Monday with my MENA insights.
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The scale of this partnership is wild. A 2GW supercluster just for multimodal AI shows how seriusly the industry is taking the next wave of content creation. Curious to see if Project Halo can deliver on the personalizaton promises, especially for regional content in MEA.