Stephen Chow's Bigo Group takes strategic stake in AI short-drama startup Interactive Star
What's the deal? Hong Kong film legend Stephen Chow has taken a strategic stake in Interactive Star Network TechnologyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Suzhou-based startup building AI-powered short dramas and interactive video games. Chow's Bigo Group led the early-stage VC round, which raised $20M at a $100M valuation.
The two sides plan to collaborate on AI-generated series, interactive film-games, and full IP chain development — potentially bringing AI-reimagined versions of Chow's classic films like A Chinese Odyssey and Flirting Scholar to audiences.
Why now? China's AI short drama market is exploding. According to the China Netcasting Services Association, roughly 128,000 micro short dramas launched in Q1 2025 — and AI-made titles accounted for over 95% of them. Yet quality remains desperately thin: only about one in 1,000 AI short dramas becomes a hit.
That gap between volume and quality is exactly what this partnership targets. Chow's team brings proven creative and IP adaptation chops; Interactive Star brings motion-capture infrastructure and proprietary multi-camera capture systems that solve common AI video problems like inconsistent character appearances.
Interactive Star was founded in 2024, but its core team has deep roots. CEO Wang Yuren and partner Chen Min — a former senior copyright director at China LiteratureDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — control over 20 premium IPs including A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality , Shaosong , and Wukong Biography . Their affiliated studio, Wanwei Cat Animation, pioneered live-action motion capture combined with virtual engines for Chinese animation and already had a three-film deal with Chow's Bigo Group. This investment deepens that relationship from project-level collaboration to capital-level alignment.
What could go wrong? The AI short drama space is crowded and commoditised. With 95% of new releases already AI-generated, standing out requires more than technology — it demands storytelling that resonates. Interactive Star's first interactive film-game, Shaosong , is set to launch in summer 2026, but the format remains commercially unproven at scale.
There's also execution risk in stretching across AI series, interactive games, live-action adaptations, and full IP chain operations simultaneously — especially for a company founded in 2024.
The signal: This deal underscores a broader shift in China's entertainment industry, where celebrity-backed corporate investors are moving capital directly into early-stage AI content startups rather than licensing IP at arm's length. With Interactive Star still at the early stage and already commanding a $100M valuation, the premium reflects investor conviction that the scarce asset in AI short dramas isn't the generation technology — now virtually commoditised — but the combination of premium IP libraries and production infrastructure that can deliver consistent visual quality at scale.
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