koyal.ai (YC F25)

Last night, we wrapped up the BIGGEST AI filmmaking hackathon in Austin at @sxsw! More than 100 filmmakers tried and tested @KoyalAI to create films in less than 3 hours. The time constraint revealed something interesting: the best stories shined. Progress in AI has made producing good quality shots easy, but they don’t tie together without a great narrative. It was great to see so many traditional filmmakers (and AI beginners) embrace the technology and give us direct feedback. SXSW is the biggest tech x filmmaking conference in the world. We’re super lucky to host something historic and groundbreaking at such a prestigious event just one year into our journey as a startup. Big big thanks to our partners @MachineCinema & fellow sponsors @gmi_cloud (@yuqih) & @pixverseai ! And Red Thread X & the folks at @austinaifilm Big thank you to Michael Wise & @ericshamlin for bringing their years of expertise in Hollywood to judging the films made by the budding filmmakers! Fun fact: I was in a big panic because we got rate limited randomly when everyone signed up at the same time and my co-founder @gauri_al saved us from SF 🫶

@meh_agarwal @KoyalAI I checked your website, interesting project. Identity verification feels like a much-needed feature. I’m surprised more models haven’t implemented it yet. Maybe because memes with public figures tend to go viral very easily.

Umm… Utopai is good, but we’ve had this for multiple months @KoyalAI lol

“Wait, it was @KoyalAI this whole time??” “Always has been”

USC, the #1 film school in the world, will be teaching AI filmmaking with @KoyalAI next semester. @USCCinema chose us because we bring AI to filmmakers, not another prompt box. We route across 45+ models, matching each scene to the model best serves it. Last week marked one year since I quit my job to bootstrap this startup. Pretty surreal. The timing is kind of poetic. A few weeks ago I was at @aaftindia, India's first and biggest film school, talking to filmmakers about what they actually need from AI. Now it's the biggest school in the world. Presenting Koyal at the @USC School of Cinematic Arts AI demo day, in front of faculty who have dedicated their careers to film and television, was a moment I won't forget. Professor Nancy Forner walked us through how Koyal could augment the full production pipeline: pre-planning cuts for story and pacing, experimenting with costumes, reworking scenes that aren't landing, scouting locations. The vision is a living workspace where the entire creative team iterates together. That's the future we're building. Not replacing the craft, but elevating it. None of this would have been possible without Professor @lgiordano. Huge thank you to Professor Nancy Forner, Mona May, Alex Rotaru, Fred Grinstein & the rest of the awesome USC faculty! Can't wait to see what the next generation of USC filmmakers creates.

To everyone asking me how we’re different from Netflix & Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup: A. 🔥 comparison, loved Good Will Hunting & Argo B. They’re focused on post production & editing after a movie is shot. @KoyalAI is focused on pre-viz & end to end filmmaking right from the script. & you can try it now at beta [dot] koyal [dot] ai Hope that clarifies!

We’re hosting the biggest AI filmmaking hackathon in Austin at SXSW. @sxsw is the biggest creative festival in the world attended by 30,000+ creators, filmmakers, and technologists. Now they get to create a short film with AI & screen it that night. Our Uncanny Valley Fest at YC was the biggest AI filmmaking hackathon in SF. Now @KoyalAI is running it back with @MachineCinemaAI Teams of 4–6. 3 hours. Judged by Universal Studios execs, Emmy winners, and Cannes Lions winners. Sunday March 15. 6:30 PM. RTX House at The LINE Austin. We’ll feed you. Just show up ready to create. Sign up below 👇

Unconference sessions were led by: → @ZiqiPeng (@first_intel) on the technical landscape of AI video → @armandokirwin (Nextmost) on building & distributing AI-native film in the next 6 months → @minhsmind (@MachineCinemaAI & @fantasticdayxyz) on where this medium is actually headed → Gauri Agarwal (@KoyalAI) on why a filmmaker will never prompt a film → @Vince2000_ (Martini Art) on Seedance 2.0

A representative from Koyal.ai, a finalist of Kalasetu, shares how their AI platform simplifies and accelerates video content creation—making storytelling smarter, faster, and more efficient. #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 @GoI_MeitY @AshwiniVaishnaw @JitinPrasada @OfficialINDIAai @IndiaAiExpo @KoyalAI

2nd trip to LA this month. I guess I’m becoming the AI guy in Hollywood. Not complaining. Filmmakers are trusting the work at @KoyalAI because we’ve tested every model and know what works for every type of shot. Publishing our findings soon but feel free to ask and DM me if you’re in Hollywood/Bollywood. Unlike what people think, the appetite for AI video is real. And it’s not coming from suits. It’s coming from filmmakers whose ideas were always “too expensive” or “too out there” to make. Until now. AI is becoming what the camera already is: a tool that helps you make your vision, not replace it.

#PrimusAtAISummit | At the @IndiaAiExpo 2026, Primus Partners convened leaders from government, academia and industry for a powerful discussion on 𝐀𝐈, 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 in the session: 𝐑𝐞-𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈 & 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - examining how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping classrooms, careers and entrepreneurship. Moderated by Charu Malhotra, the panel explored how India can move beyond using AI as a tool and instead build an ecosystem that creates AI-native talent and innovators. Speakers including Narendra Bhooshan, Dheeraj Sahu, Prof. C. Raj Kumar, Sanjay Jain, Yashmit Kedia, Ajay Data , Abhijeet Upponi and Gauri Agarwal shared insights from policy, academia, industry and entrepreneurship. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 • The real challenge is not the speed of AI, but the readiness of our education systems • Curriculum must shift from rote learning to critical thinking, AI literacy and interdisciplinary learning • Students must move from being AI consumers to AI creators and solution architects • Future-ready skills include AI fluency, prompt engineering, problem decomposition, experimentation and human–AI collaboration • AI will reshape jobs, but with the right skilling approach, it can create more opportunities than it displaces • Teachers remain central - AI should reduce administrative burden and strengthen mentorship • Entrepreneurship will accelerate as AI lowers the cost of building and scaling businesses • Talent needs extend beyond software into AI infrastructure, energy systems and applied sciences @UPGovt | @EduMinOfIndia | @GoogleIndia | @JindalGlobalUNI | ChimeraVC | Submer | @KoyalAI | @VarmaNilaya | @OfficialINDIAai #IndiaAIImpactSummit #AIinEducation #FutureOfWork #STEM #SkillingIndia #ResponsibleAI #PrimusPartners #AIForIndia

We’re proud to host the AI Impact Summit – Founders & CXOs Networking Dinner & the panel, “India’s AI Moment: Innovation, Investment & Responsible Growth.” Moderated by our Co-Founder & CEO, Mr Vinay Krishna Gupta. In collaboration with @KoyalAI & @inshorts. #Antino

Months ago, we predicted this would happen. We made a Suits parody where Louis finally beats Harvey by using @getlexi_io, AI associates that learn your firm and handle the grunt work. Today Harvey just hired a fictional lawyer as their brand ambassador. Turns out we predicted their whole vibe. Louis knew first. Built with @KoyalAI. Attack ads are back!

When @duolingo will have to inevitably share the stage with @KoyalAI in the best AI mascot birds... Looking forward to mogging Duo that fine day :)

HOT TAKE: you shouldn't have to know which AI video model is best. So every week, we benchmark them all, and automatically bring the winners into @KoyalAI. This week's winners: @grok Imagine @ViduAI_official Q3 @PixVerseAI 5.6 @LumaLabsAI Ray 3.14 @KlingAI V3 Pro Just upload your script/audio. Koyal's agent routes every scene to the right model. You just direct. Other platforms make you choose. We just make the film. PS: we're internally testing Seedance 2 and it's looking 🔥 dropping next week.

This this and a thousand times this. PJ nailed it on the head. Use AI as a medium rather than a shortcut to great storytelling. We can help with @KoyalAI, giving you all the control knobs so that you create films, not prompt them.

When they say you're one of the few AI video companies building for creatives instead of bragging about replacing them 🥲

Stop begging a model for magic. Start directing. Koyal is an agentic AI filmmaking platform It turns a script - or even raw audio - into a film you can cut, recut, and release It starts where filmmakers start: performance Then agents do what a crew would: scenes, shots, retakes Multilingual script → audio → video Agentic lip-sync with believable motion Characters that stay themselves across scenes Because real directors don’t “prompt” a movie They write. Perform. Reshoot. Koyal brings AI to that century-old workflow 🎙️ @meh_agarwal, Co-founder & CEO @KoyalAI on @fondocom @thestartpod 00:00 Intro to Mehul and Koyal “Agentic AI filmmaking platform” 01:10 Most exciting videos on the platform 01:34 Music video and filming at a UNESCO site with AI 02:55 Origin story from text-to-3D gaming startup to AI filmmaking 03:24 The early days of Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and the AI image explosion 04:22 Why the gaming industry is a "thankless" place for startups 04:50 "why isn't this a startup?" moment 05:15 meme pages, standup comedy, and scriptwriting 07:08 How Koyal works: the "Pixar process" without a camera 08:30 Launching the first video hackathon at YC 10:47 Where to follow and try Koyal

Everyone's seen the Nihilist Penguin. Nobody knows why he left. We collaborated with Werner Herzog to uncover the real story. Viewer discretion advised.

Sundance can’t decide if AI filmmaking is the future or a threat, and honestly that uncertainty is the most exciting part. One panel condemns it. Next room celebrates it. This messy middle is where everything interesting is happening.