Crowd Media secures agreements to commercialise Talking Head artificial intelligence platform

Crowd Media (ASX: CM8) has executed two commercial agreements for its artificial intelligence-driven Talking Head platform for integration into the media search sector and NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace.

The agreements fall within Crowd’s objective of commercialising the platform within three years of its inception in 2019.

The platform produces computer-generated digital avatars which are then powered by Crowd’s AI technology to enable them to converse in real time with humans, providing answers generated by AI.

Media search agreement

The first agreement is with Israeli data tech company SourceFlare Ltd which will seek to blend Crowd’s technology into its own marketing platform to optimise customer acquisition funnels and lead generation.

The SourceFlare platform applies machine learning and data insights to generate customer leads for its clients through online mediums such as search engines and social media.

Crowd has agreed to develop a proof of concept within three months, and advance it through a ‘scale up’ phase where digital avatars will generate unique marketing campaigns in multiple languages to promote customer acquisition funnels and optimise lead generation for SourceFlare clients.

Agreement costs

SourceFlare has agreed to waive licencing fees for Crowd’s mobile subscription business to access the SourceFlare platform for the purpose of B2C (business-to-consumer) customer acquisition.

It will pay Crowd approximately $7,100 per month to cover a non-exclusive and non-sublicensable licencing fee for access to the Talking Head platform, as well as ongoing service operation and support.

Crowd will be responsible for any media buying expenses incurred on the SourceFlare platform.

Building on synergies

Crowd Media chief executive officer Idan Schmorak said the agreement would build on synergies between the two companies.

“Our team is excited to be collaborating with SourceFlare … we share similar goals, with online customer acquisition having long been a vital part of our mobile subscription business,” he said.

“With consumers spending more time online than ever before, personalised content is an opportunity for businesses to stand out from the competition and we believe SourceFlare understands the rapidly-changing trends of online consumers and how to appeal to them.”

NFT agreement

Crowd’s second agreement is with AI-driven creative studio Impssbl Corporation, and will see its Talking Head technology applied as a series of interactive NFTs in that market space.

Impssbl specialises in the application of digital assets in storytelling where the NFTs are integrated with artificial intelligence to tell stories through Web3 mediums.

Under the terms of the agreement, Crowd will grant Impssbl access to its platform to develop a ‘bridge’ which will convert an AI-generated digital avatar into NFT artwork.

The project will be carried out in three stages — technical integration (stage one, due for completion early next year); first commercialisation (stage two); and scale commercialisation (stage three) — during which Impssbl will lead the creation process and execute marketing and sales of the created series.

Profits generated from the NFT series will be shared between Impssbl (70%) and Crowd (30%), after technology development and marketing costs have been deducted.

“Digital avatars generated by our Talking Head platform are unique in nature between their visual and audio elements the NFT landscape was identified as an opportunity to monetise our technology,” Mr Schmorak said.

“Through Impssbl, we have found a partner that is able to create utility for NFTs in the form of interactive communication and storytelling … as we scale the project up with our platform, collectors will be able to acquire an interaction with a celebrity avatar that is personally made for them.”