Jared Leto Invests in $500M AI Startup Amid Celebrity Criticism

Jared Leto has become the latest celebrity to invest in artificial intelligence, backing the generative AI startup Captions. This move comes despite calls from other stars to shut down the controversial technology.

Leto has joined forces with venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, and Adobe in supporting Captions. According to Bloomberg, the company recently raised $60 million in new investments, bringing its valuation to $500 million.

Captions offers a suite of tools, including AI video editing, eye contact correction, translation, and editing. This marks Leto's second AI investment this year, following his participation in funding Pika, a company that allows users to generate short videos from written prompts, images, or videos.

The Broader Celebrity Investment Landscape

The topic of generative AI has been divisive in Hollywood, especially after it became a focal point during last summer's writers and actors' strikes. While many celebrities have voiced opposition to the technology, others, like Leto, have chosen to support it financially.

Other notable celebrity investors in AI include Leonardo DiCaprio, who serves as a strategic adviser for Regeneration VC. This fund recently invested $1.6 million in the AI recycling company Greyparrot, which uses advanced AI systems to sort waste. Robert Downey Jr. also has a venture fund, the Footprint Coalition, which focuses on environmental initiatives and has invested in ClimateAI to mitigate climate change impacts using AI.

Ashton Kutcher and music manager Guy Oseary co-founded Sound Venture, an investing firm with a portfolio that includes companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Stability AI.

Conclusion

As the debate over the ethics and impact of artificial intelligence continues, Jared Leto's investment in Captions highlights the growing interest and involvement of high-profile individuals in the AI sector. While some celebrities remain cautious, others are embracing the potential of AI to drive innovation and solve complex problems. The ongoing investments from prominent figures indicate that AI technology will continue to be a significant area of development and discussion in both Hollywood and the tech industry.