Our investment in Chronicle Studios
Squid Game spent over a decade in development before finally being greenlit by Netflix breaking out as one of their most valuable IPs. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk conceived the idea in 2008 and penned the script by 2009, yet struggled for a decade to launch due to its experimental and risky nature. Similarly, Cocomelon launched on YouTube in 2006 as “ThatsMEonTV” but remained relatively unnoticed until a strategic pivot to nursery rhymes and analytics-driven content adjustments nearly a decade later turned it into a global animation powerhouse that was eventually acquired for over $3B.
We believe creatives shouldn’t have to endure years in “greenlight purgatory” waiting to bring innovative IP to life. We also believe that there is no limit to the supply of world-class creative talent, the challenge centers around surfacing them and giving them the opportunity to reach audiences at scale.
That’s why we’re excited to announce our latest investment: Patron has led the $11.6M investment round in Chronicle Studios, a next-generation entertainment studio purpose-built to empower creators in the rapidly changing world of AI.
Chronicle Studios, co-founded by veteran producer Chris deFaria (Producer on the Oscar winning film Gravity and former President of DreamWorks Animation), is reshaping how iconic IP is developed, starting with animation. Chronicle is innovating by reversing the traditional creative process—leveraging AI-powered insights to identify emerging creatives and IP, then testing audience interests and engaging communities early in development. Chronicle addresses the hesitation of traditional studios to embrace risky IP by employing incremental development informed by their proprietary analytics engine, enabling creators to develop captivating characters and narratives more effectively and sustainably.
At Patron, we strongly believe the most compelling consumer companies will result from second-order effects of AI—in this example, where AI serves as the enabler to develop and produce new groundbreaking entertainment IP, empowering rather than disintermediating the creatives. While so much of the recent investor focus has been pointed at monetizing the generation of content, contributing to a rapidly expanding and never-ending supply of AI slop, we believe that the real value lies in more efficiently and predictably producing the content that people actually watch and love.
Chronicle’s experienced team, including CEO Aaron Sisto (former Partner at First Spark Ventures and a repeat deep tech founder who we’ve collaborated with closely in consumer AI) alongside the best creatives and technologists in the world, perfectly embodies this vision.
We’re thrilled to support Chronicle Studios alongside co-investors Point72 Ventures, Sands Capital, and Z Ventures, as they redefine the future of storytelling in entertainment.