Kanye West Now Plans to Build an AI Dream Team for Yeezy

American rapper Kanye West is reportedly hiring AI talent for his creative brand Yeezy. The roles include AI engineers, film editors, architects, designers, and studio assistants.

The announcement comes despite the ongoing criticism of West’s AI-generated projects, which have drawn mixed reactions. West appears committed to making AI a central creative tool for Yeezy rather than a supporting feature.

This isn’t West’s only ambitious initiative recently. He also revisited plans for DROAM, a self-sustainable city concept in Los Angeles, sharing its principles and systems on Instagram. However, like many of West’s ventures, the project remains in the concept stage.

Rise of AI-First Studios 

AI is fundamentally changing the way creative work is done, allowing small, innovative teams to produce high-quality content rapidly and in entirely new ways.

Commenting on the rise of AI-first studios, Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela wrote, “The rise of AI-first studios: small groups of creative talent—filmmakers, cinematographers, DPs, artists, actors, editors—accomplishing in weeks what used to take years.” 

He highlighted their global emergence, mentioning cities like New York, Miami, LA, Paris, Brazil, and New Zealand. These studios, he explained, are not traditional ones adapting to new tools but entirely new entities built on fresh principles. 

“They’re borrowing workflows and adapting them, experimenting left and right,” he added. “They have no attachment to how things used to be made, only to good ideas and taste.”

In September, Runway partnered with Lionsgate, the studio behind John Wick, granting the studio exclusive access to Runway’s AI tools for content creation. This collaboration set a new standard in the entertainment industry and positioned Runway ahead of competitors like OpenAI’s Sora. 

Rumours suggest a potential AI collaboration between Disney and OpenAI. Similarly, Promise, a studio backed by Andreessen Horowitz, will use generative AI to produce shows and movies. Runway’s tools also played a role in the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once, streamlining special effects production, reducing costs, and minimising manual effort.