Digital Domain and Star Plus Legend Forge Strategic Joint Venture to Revolutionize “AI Generated Content (AIGC) + Intellectual Property (IP) Integration”
On June 6, 2024, in Hong Kong, Digital Domain Holdings Limited (“Digital Domain”, stock code: 547) announced a collaboration with Star Plus Legend Holdings Limited (“Star Plus Legend”, stock code: 6683) through an indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Tower Talent. Digital Domain has partnered with Star Plus Legend, leveraging Star Odyssey, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the latter, to establish a joint venture. Each company will own 40% of the joint venture, and 20% by the Management Team Company. This strategic initiative signifies the beginning of both parties’ entry into the competitive market as they explore the integration of diverse business models through AI Generated Content (AIGC) and Intellectual Property (IP).
In the era of artificial intelligence advancements, digitalization has become crucial for top-tier enterprises aiming to integrate various business models. With a rich legacy spanning over 30 years, Digital Domain has produced numerous feature films, episodes, advertising, game cinematics, and experimental immersive experiences, resulting in a vast asset library. By harnessing cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, Digital Domain has developed proprietary virtual humans with capabilities for real-time capture, rendering, emotional expressiveness, and intelligent interaction. Star Plus Legend possesses a robust celebrity IP portfolio and a comprehensive IP operation model. By customizing unique character and content IPs for artists, it maximizes their influence. For instance, Star Plus Legend has created official Nijigen-style personalities and virtual humans for artists such as Jay Chou and Liu Keng-hung, licensing them for use in the metaverse/AI content creation domain. This partnership marks the beginning of a new chapter in combining digital content with diverse technologies for both parties.
The joint venture aims to capitalize on their strengths by developing an AI-driven copyright library using artificial intelligence. They also intend to create immersive entertainment experiences for platforms such as the Metaverse. Additionally, as the exclusive digital content production and distribution agent for Star Plus Legend, the joint venture is dedicated to advancing the digitization of its IP matrix and creative content production.
The advent of artificial intelligence has revolutionized the consumer market, making it more interactive and interconnected than ever before. According to Daniel SEAH, CEO of Digital Domain, consumers are embracing digitalization with a new mindset and behavior. Digital Domain’s advanced technology and creative expertise in virtual humans and visual effects can create valuable synergies with the influential IP matrix and operation model of Star Plus Legend. This collaboration can enhance the monetization of celebrities’ digital avatars and their commercial value, opening up a wider range of application scenarios.
Ms. Michelle MA, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Star Plus Legend said, “Through this collaboration, we aim to maximize our expertise in IP operation and creation, driving the innovative development of ‘AIGC+IP’. This marks a crucial step in expanding our global market presence. Looking ahead, we anticipate collaborating closely with Digital Domain to create an intelligent, interactive, and personalized digital ecosystem, fostering further innovation and development of the industry.”
JAKOTA Capital AG played a crucial role in brokering the joint venture deal between Digital Domain and Star Plus Legend and will remain the strategic adviser to the joint venture going forward.
###
About Digital Domain
Digital Domain Holdings Limited (“Digital Domain”) is the pioneer of creating transportive experiences. Throughout the last 30 years, Digital Domain has grown to lead the visual effects industry, expanding globally the arm of virtual humans and visualization. Digital Domain’s rich legacy consists of hundreds of feature films and episodes, thousands of advertisements, game cinematics, and experimental immersive experiences. A creative force in cutting-edge technologies, Digital Domain has brought exceptional artistry to Academy Award-winning blockbusters of “Titanic,” “What Dreams May Come,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Marvel Cinematic Universe titles crushed all-time worldwide box office, such as the “Avengers” franchise, and “Stranger Things” made a splash with Season IV.
As the first independent visual effects studio to successfully enter Greater China, Digital Domain has further paved the way towards virtual race since 2016. Leaning into technologies of artificial intelligence and virtual reality allows Digital Domain to create photorealistic and emotionally expressive virtual humans, all in real-time, as well as provides an advanced medium for human-computer and human-human interactions in diverse virtual scenarios.
Digital Domain is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 547). Digital Domain has locations including Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, Beijing, Shanghai and Hyderabad.
Digital Domain’s official website – WWW.DIGITALDOMAIN.COM
About Star Plus Legend
Star Plus Legend Holdings Limited (6683.HK) was founded in 2017 and is a publicly listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, primarily focusing on IP creation and operation and new retail business. In December 2023, the company received the “ListCo Excellence Awards” from IFENG.COM and AM730. It was approved for inclusion in the Hang Seng Composite Index in February 2024, and formally entered the Hong Kong Stock Connect in March, and was included in the MSCI Global Small Cap Index in May.
The IP creation and operation business comprises IP content creation and management business, including provision of media content creation, event planning, celebrity IP management services, and IP licensing and sales of related products. The company has rich experience in IP creation and operation, maximizing the influence of celebrities by creating unique character IPs and media content IP for different artists, and the cumulative number of fans of the existing celebrity IP portfolio has reached 200 million.
In the new retail segment, the company focuses on developing and selling health management and skincare products, including its owns health management brands MODONG and Bonggie, and skincare brand Dr.mg. According to CIC, MODONG Coffee ranked first in China’s bulletproof drink market by gross merchandise value (GMV) for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023. Bonggie Matcha Powder became the best-selling product in the Douyin natural powder market in 2023. In addition, the MODONG brand received the “Jiangsu Highly Famous Trademark” award in 2024. The company’s products have been highly recognized in the health and wellness sector. Looking ahead, Star Plus Legend aims to leverage the synergy between its new retail and IP creation and operation businesses to drive sustained growth.
Star Plus Legned’s official website – www.6683.hk