MrBeast, YouTube’s biggest star, is looking for a leader to help create its “AI-native” work.
The job posting says Beast Industries wants to build new manufacturing capabilities that make AI “the foundation, not the tool.”
They’re looking for people who can help “define what AI-native entertainment looks like, develop original formats, and build systems that can envision, create, and scale content around AI.”
MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) isn’t the first creator to delve into AI. Fellow superstar creator Stephen Bartlett has been producing a completely AI-animated show since last year.
Still, as a top creator on YouTube with 479 million subscribers, Donaldson’s moves in this area will likely be noticed by the entertainment community.
Many production studios are implementing AI across production, marketing, and visual effects, and startups are raising millions of dollars with the promise of helping legacy Hollywood transition into the AI era.
So far, fully AI-powered production is primarily in the realm of animation, podcasts, and short videos.
In the micro-drama space, apps like TikTok’s Pine Drama and Vigloo have AI-generated character-driven dramas. These AI dramas make up 10% of Vigloo’s library, a spokesperson said. Beijing-based startup StoReel recently raised $34 million to create an AI micro-drama.
AI-driven production will solve several problems for Donaldson.
He is known for his viral, high-budget challenge and giveaway videos, but the company is tightening spending. One of the expectations of this job is to use automation to create more content, faster.
Creating AI-driven videos also directly addresses the risks creators face when building a company that relies on their time and personas. As Donaldson expands his company into consumer products and services, he has limited bandwidth to appear in his videos. He recently hired former NBCU unscripted executive Corey Henson to head the studio division and is looking to expand the company’s video franchise.
Donaldson himself has expressed concerns about the risks of AI to his industry.
After OpenAI released Sora 2 last fall, Donaldson reflected on what advances in AI mean for creators at X, adding, “It’s a scary time.”
He also released a tool last year that used AI to generate thumbnails for videos, which he later removed after backlash from creators.