{"id":883,"date":"2026-05-28T14:07:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883"},"modified":"2026-05-28T14:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:07:03","slug":"real-time-ai-video-startup-reactor-founded-by-ex-apple-engineers-raises-59-million-from-jeffrey-katzenbergs-wndrco-and-others-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883","title":{"rendered":"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tExisting generative AI models are built on batch processing: You give the system instructions; it runs computations; then spits back the results.<\/p>\n

Read more CNN Sues AI Firm Perplexity, Alleging It Engaged in \u2018Massive Copyright Infringement\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tNow comes a Silicon Valley startup that says it can produce gen-AI video (and other outputs) in real time \u2014 a potentially groundbreaking advance: San Francisco-based Reactor, co-founded by Alberto Taiuti and Bryce Schmidtchen, two former technical leads for the Apple Vision Pro AR\/VR headset.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe duo have a vote of confidence from Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood mogul turned investor, who has taken a stake in Reactor through his WndrCo holding company. Reactor has raised a $59 million round of Series A funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from investors including WndrCo, Amplify Partners, Sky9 Capital and FPV Ventures.<\/p>\n

\n\tKatzenberg says that when he met with Reactor founders and saw their demo, \u201cI was incredibly impressed, if not astounded, by just how innovative their approach is to storytelling tools.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLiterally every facet of the production pipeline can be enhanced using these tools: live action, TV, film, commercial work, animation \u2013 any visual medium can be enhanced by the applications from Reactor,\u201d he says. With the funding, Katzenberg will join Reactor as a board observer.<\/p>\n

\n\tKatzenberg describes Reactor like this: \u201cIt\u2019s a bridge between the model world and real-world applications.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tReactor says its platform unlocks a new form of media: experiences that are no longer pre-rendered, but generated dynamically and shaped by user interaction. The Reactor platform provides a unified software development kit (SDK) and application programming interface (API) that let developers build real-time interactive applications with \u201cjust a few lines of code\u201d \u2014 and run them at scale.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWorld models are redefining what AI can do, moving from systems that generate content in isolation, to ones that perceive and respond in real time,\u201d says Taiuti, who is Reactor\u2019s CEO. \u201cWe are building the critical layer between the model labs and the developers who want to create with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur mission is to democratize real-time video generation,\u201d Taiuti says. The company has examples of its system in action on its website at reactor.inc.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaiuti and Schmidtchen, after they left Apple, founded Reactor in August 2025. \u201cIt was germinating in our heads for quite some time,\u201d says Taiuti. \u201cReactor is the culmination of our entire careers. It feels like we have been building for this moment for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tText-to-video generative AI systems can take up to 10 minutes to produce 10 seconds of video, says Taiuti. With Reactor, \u201cthe time to first frame with our platform is basically nil,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have optimized our platform for this content modality \u2014 we can generate videos instantaneously. They can be unbounded. They can run as long as you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Toronto Market, Fronti\u00e8res\u00a0to Launch Genre Showcase in September (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAnd Reactor\u2019s platform has applications beyond real-time video, including software development and robotics. \u201cWhat if software is written this way?\u201d Taiuti muses. In the future, he suggests, \u201chumans are going to interact with pixels, not text.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSchmidtchen, who serves as Reactor\u2019s CTO, says companies using its real-time AI platform include Overworld, a developer of interactive gaming models. As far as source material, Reactor partners with companies that have trained their own models, and \u201cwe take their models and optimize them heavily,\u201d says Schmidtchen. Reactor has worked with over a dozen models from different AI labs.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaiuti says the company is in talks with major Hollywood studios about deals. \u201cStudios want to train their own models internally,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tReactor will use the latest tranche of funding to expand internationally as well as in the U.S. to serve large customers. It also expects to invest in expanding its GPU capacity for real-time processing, and spend money on marketing.<\/p>\n

\n\tReactor is based San Francisco\u2019s South Park neighborhood and currently has 16 employees. The team includes engineers and researchers from Apple, Netflix, Meta, Google, Adobe, Replicate and Microsoft, who have experience in graphics, real-time systems, interactive media and scaling AI infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\n\tBucky Moore, partner at Lightspeed, said in a statement, \u201cReal-time video models are currently inaccessible to developers due to a lack of infrastructure that can reliably serve them. Alberto, Bryce and the team bring a rare combination of real-time systems expertise and product vision to this problem, and we believe Reactor is well positioned to become the foundational platform in this new category.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tReactor\u2019s partners include Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is providing compute infrastructure and distribution to serve real-time generative video workloads at global scale. Deap Ubhi, global director of technology for startups at AWS, says Reactor is unique in the space right now because they are building an AI inference engine that is agnostic to any model. He says that on a Zoom call, Taiuti used Reactor\u2019s platform to change Ubhi\u2019s face into Albert Einstein\u2019s in real time. \u201cThe technology powering that inference engine is pretty powerful,\u201d he says. \u201cThat building block is quite compelling and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJason Bennett, AWS\u2019s VP and global head of startups and venture capital, adds, \u201cReactor\u2019s real-time video platform demands inference infrastructure that can deliver at the speed of interaction, not just the speed of generation, and AWS is unmatched in solving for the latency, scale and reliability that these workloads require.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKatzenberg, about Reactor\u2019s technology, says, \u201cI\u2019m just quite optimistic this is ultimately going to have a very empowering and successful outcome for Hollywood.\u201d Katzenberg is the former CEO of DreamWorks Animation, which he co-founded after heading Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures. He says he was \u201cschooled\u201d in traditional hand-drawn animation for the better part of a decade and then was \u201cfront and center\u201d as CGI arrived and upended that business. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI am certain we are on the cusp of one of those transformative moments today,\u201d says Katzenberg, adding: \u201cStorytelling always evolves \u2014 it\u2019s been that way going back to cave drawings. I look for tools that give storytellers the edge. The human touch is to me still everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Sherlock Nemesis Moriarty Set for Drama Series From Fremantle, Archery Pictures<\/a><\/p>\n

\nPictured top: Alberto Taiuti (left), Bryce Schmidtchen<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reactor, a startup that produces gen-AI video in real time, raised $59 million from investors including Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[894,895],"class_list":["post-883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","tag-jeffrey-katzenberg","tag-reactor"],"yoast_head":"\nReal-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE) - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE) - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reactor, a startup that produces gen-AI video in real time, raised $59 million from investors including Jeffrey Katzenberg's WndrCo.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T14:07:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T14:07:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883\"},\"wordCount\":1050,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3ff03a38bcf5a12920553b44fc678cb4.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Jeffrey Katzenberg,\",\"Reactor\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Digital\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883\",\"name\":\"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE) - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3ff03a38bcf5a12920553b44fc678cb4.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T14:07:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3ff03a38bcf5a12920553b44fc678cb4.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3ff03a38bcf5a12920553b44fc678cb4.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=883#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE) - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE) - Relocation Observer","og_description":"Reactor, a startup that produces gen-AI video in real time, raised $59 million from investors including Jeffrey Katzenberg's WndrCo.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-05-28T14:07:03+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE)","datePublished":"2026-05-28T14:07:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883"},"wordCount":1050,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3ff03a38bcf5a12920553b44fc678cb4.webp","keywords":["Jeffrey Katzenberg,","Reactor"],"articleSection":["Digital"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883","name":"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE) - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3ff03a38bcf5a12920553b44fc678cb4.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-28T14:07:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3ff03a38bcf5a12920553b44fc678cb4.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3ff03a38bcf5a12920553b44fc678cb4.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=883#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Real-Time AI Video Startup Reactor, Founded by Ex-Apple Engineers, Raises $59 Million From Jeffrey Katzenberg\u2019s WndrCo and Others (EXCLUSIVE)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}