Amazon backs AI-assisted animated series for Prime Video with new creator fund

Amazon MGM Studios and AWS have announced a GenAI Creators’ Fund that will support AI-assisted animated projects for Prime Video.

The companies said in a Prime Video press release that the fund is backed by Amazon MGM Studios and AWS, and that it will use an AWS-built AI production platform called Project Nara. The announcement names three animated projects ordered for Prime Video: Cupcake & Friends, Love, Diana Music Hunters, and Punky Duck.

Three Prime Video projects announced

According to Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video, the GenAI Creators’ Fund is intended to give creators access to production support and generative AI tools. The company described Project Nara as the platform powering the initiative.

The Decoder reported that the creators behind the initial pilots had five weeks to produce them, citing Amazon’s announcement of the fund and platform. The Decoder also reported Amazon’s claim that it now has the “only end-to-end AI content ecosystem in the industry.” That claim is Amazon’s characterization of its own offering, not an independently verified industry assessment.

Variety Australia also reported that Amazon MGM Studios greenlit Punky Duck, Love, Diana Music Hunters, and Cupcake & Friends under the new fund, and identified Project Nara as the Amazon MGM Studios–AWS platform tied to the initiative.

Project Nara puts AWS inside the production process

Amazon’s announcement places AWS in a direct production role, not only as cloud infrastructure but as the builder of the AI platform used by the fund. The Prime Video press release says Project Nara is the AWS-built AI production platform powering the initiative.

The available source material does not provide a detailed technical breakdown of Project Nara’s models, training data, or workflow. It also does not specify how much of each series is generated by AI versus created through conventional animation and production methods. What Amazon has publicly confirmed is the pairing of Amazon MGM Studios’ content operation with AWS-built production tooling under a dedicated creator fund.

Early backlash hits one project

The initiative has already faced criticism. TheWrap reported that Jorge R. Gutierrez, the creator associated with Punky Duck, dropped out of Amazon MGM Studios’ GenAI Creators’ Fund two days after the announcement, following backlash.

TheWrap’s report is a material update to Amazon’s initial rollout because Punky Duck was one of the three titles named in the Prime Video announcement and corroborated by Variety Australia and The Decoder. The currently provided sources do not establish whether Amazon will continue Punky Duck without Gutierrez, replace the project, or change the fund’s structure in response.

Why it matters

The announcement is significant because Amazon is tying a major streaming platform, a Hollywood studio operation, and AWS-built AI tooling into one production initiative. Rather than licensing a standalone creative tool, Amazon is presenting Project Nara as part of a broader content-production system connected to Prime Video distribution.

At the same time, the reaction described by TheWrap shows the sensitivity around generative AI in entertainment. Animation, writing, voice work, and visual development are areas where creators and unions have raised concerns about labor, attribution, consent, and training data. The sources provided here do not state how Amazon will address those questions for Project Nara or the GenAI Creators’ Fund.

For now, the confirmed facts are narrower: Amazon MGM Studios and AWS have launched the GenAI Creators’ Fund, Prime Video has ordered three AI-assisted animated projects under it, Project Nara is the AWS-built platform behind the initiative, and one named creator has already exited after public backlash.