With funding in place, Flick is building an AI-native filmmaking platform for creators who want cinematic control, not one-click video generation.
Flick, founded by award-winning filmmaker Zoey Zhang and founding Instagram engineer Ray Wang, has raised a $6 million seed round to expand its creative tooling and support a new generation of AI-native filmmakers.
This gives them the ability to direct AI-generated films through non-linear workflows, cinematic controls, and iterative creative tools.
The San Francisco-based company announced that the round was backed by several prominent investors, including True Ventures, GV (Google Ventures), Y Combinator, Lightspeed, Formosa Capital, Pioneer Fund, Olive Tree Capital and N1, along with angel investors.
The backing from True Ventures, GV and Y Combinator gives Flick early validation from investors with deep experience in technology, creative tools and startup scaling. The company is entering a fast-changing market as generative AI reshapes how video, film and visual storytelling are produced.
But Flick is positioning itself differently from many AI video startups. Rather than offering a one-click video generator, the company says it is building a platform that gives filmmakers more artistic control through an AI-native workflow designed for storytelling, iteration and direction.
An AI Filmmaking Platform Built for Creative Control
Flick was built around the belief that AI should enhance filmmaking, not replace it. The platform is designed for creators who care about aesthetics, cinematic control and creative flexibility.
The goal is to bridge powerful generative AI models with the practical needs of real-world filmmaking.
That approach could appeal to filmmakers who are interested in AI but frustrated by the limitations of current tools. According to the company, many AI video products are either too technical for creators or too constrained to support real directing.
“At Flick, creators don’t lose their authentic voice as AI scales,” Zhang said. “We’re building a bridge so filmmakers won’t think about ‘prompting models’ at all — they’ll just direct, compose, and feel, and the tools will disappear into their creative flow.”
Top Investors Back Flick’s Vision for AI-Native Filmmaking
A notable group of investors formed the Seed round.
True Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm known for backing technology startups. Mike Montano, Partner at True Ventures, described Flick’s founders as a strong combination of technical execution and creative understanding.
“Ray and Zoey represent the perfect combination of world-class technical execution and deep creative understanding,” Montano said. “They’re not just building AI tools – they’re empowering a new generation of filmmakers to focus on what matters most: storytelling and artistic expression.”
GV, formerly Google Ventures, is also backing Flick. GV General Partner Sangeen Zeb said Flick represents a new category of AI filmmaking platform designed for serious creators.
“The majority of generative video is unrefined, prioritizing volume over substance,” Zeb said. “Flick is part of an entirely new category, built for the serious filmmakers who want to use AI, not as a shortcut, but as a tool to enhance their creativity.”
Zeb added that the next generation of major filmmakers could emerge from platforms like Flick, pointing to the potential for AI-native tools to open new creative pathways.
The investor roster also includes Y Combinator, one of the world’s most recognized startup accelerators, and Lightspeed, a global venture firm that has backed major technology companies.
Additional investors in the seed round include Formosa Capital, Pioneer Fund, Olive Tree Capital and N1.
Founders Combine Film, AI and Large-Scale Product Experience
Flick’s founding team brings together filmmaking experience and large-scale product engineering.
Co-founder Wang previously helped build Instagram Stories in 2016. That product scaled to more than 400 million daily active users, giving Wang experience building consumer technology at a massive scale.
Co-founder Zhang began making films in 2013 through traditional filmmaking before moving into AI filmmaking in 2022. In February 2025, she participated in the MIT AI Film Hack, where she created her first AI short film and won the Best Visual Award. Since then, her AI films have been nominated for and awarded at more than 30 international film festivals.
The two began collaborating on Zhang’s second film in 2025. They discussed how to combine large-scale product engineering with deep creative expertise to reimagine the filmmaking process.
As they experimented with existing AI video tools and custom pipelines, they identified a gap in the market: filmmakers needed AI tools that let them direct, refine, and iterate without sacrificing creative control.
Flick Filmmaker Residency to Support Emerging AI Creators
Flick will use the new funding to accelerate product development, expand its core creative tooling and grow its filmmaker community.
The company is also launching the Flick Filmmaker Residency, a program designed to support emerging filmmakers working with AI-native creative tools. The first cohort will include more than 10 short AI-native films created by emerging filmmakers.
Those films are expected to be showcased at venues and events including Cinequest Film Festival, MIT and Omni AI Film Festival. Each residency cohort will be led by Zhang, giving filmmakers access to mentorship, industry resources and creative connections.
The residency reflects Flick’s broader ambition: to help cultivate the next generation of filmmakers working at the intersection of AI, storytelling and cinematic craft.
Why Flick’s Seed Round Matters
Flick’s funding comes as AI video tools are attracting growing attention from creators, investors and media companies. While many platforms emphasize speed and volume, Flick is betting that serious filmmakers will want tools that preserve artistic authorship and support more sophisticated workflows.
That distinction could matter as AI-generated film moves from experimentation into more professional creative use cases. Filmmakers may not only need models that generate video, but platforms that support directing, composition, iteration, scene development and creative decision-making.
With backing from True Ventures, GV, Y Combinator, Lightspeed and other investors, Flick is entering the market with strong institutional support and a founder team that blends creative credibility with consumer product experience.
The company’s challenge now will be turning that vision into a platform that filmmakers can use to create compelling AI-native films while maintaining their own artistic voice.
