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Popcorn Studio AI Raises $1 Million to Scale AI Filmmaking Platform
The Dubai startup, founded by Egyptian entrepreneurs Shady Essam and Mohamed Hedar, is building an all-in-one AI production workflow.
Dubai-based creative technology startup Popcorn AI Studio has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to develop its AI filmmaking platform and support expansion across regional and international markets.
Founded in 2026 by Egyptian entrepreneurs Shady Essam and Mohamed Hedar, the company combines scriptwriting, character creation, scene generation, voice, lip-sync and post-production within a single workflow. The platform is aimed at filmmakers, content creators, agencies and brands that would otherwise need to move between multiple AI tools during production.
The round was led by Emirati entrepreneur and investor Mohammed Bin Bouta Alharsoosi. Popcorn AI Studio plans to expand across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt while developing international partnerships.
Arabic-language production is one of the platform’s areas of focus, with native lip-sync and support for regional dialects alongside multilingual video tools.
“Our ambition isn’t to replace filmmakers. It’s to remove the barriers between imagination and execution,” said co-founder and CEO Shady Essam. “We want to make it possible for anyone with a powerful story to create something extraordinary, regardless of their budget, location or technical background.”
Popcorn AI Studio has also announced an AI filmmaking competition linked to the El Gouna Film Festival, with a $70,000 prize pool for emerging filmmakers.
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