Utopai Studios has announced the appointment of Hans Ku as its new chief product officer.
Leading product, engineering, research and business development, Ku will report to CEO and co-founder Cecilia Shen, taking responsibility for scaling technology to support the company’s expanding film and TV slate as well as developing PAI, Utopai’s cinematic storytelling engine, across its productions and partnerships.
Most recently serving as VP of AI and engineering in the Office of Technology Enablement at The Walt Disney Company, Ku’s team moved from AI-assisted engineering and productivity tools into strategy for generative content and models, as well as research into AI-native production pipelines. He played a key role in the company’s collaboration with OpenAI on Sora, connecting OpenAI teams with Disney business units to support creative and business objectives.
Beginning his career at Walt Disney Feature Animation, Ku created paperless drawing and animation system, Creation Station, allowing artists to move to digital workflows. He also launched the DreamColor colour-critical display with HP at DreamWorks Animation, earning a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Prior to returning to Disney, he co-founded AI-native script-to-screen startup, Scenely, also serving as SVP of product at Tubi, where his team launched the streaming industry’s first partnership with OpenAI.
Commenting on the appointment, Cecilia Shen, CEO and co-founder of Utopai Studios, said, “Hans knows what it takes to move emerging technology from experimentation into an organisation operating at global scale. From developing tools for animators early in his career to helping lead Disney’s collaboration with OpenAI on Sora, Hans has consistently worked at the intersection of creative ambition and emerging technology. He brings that experience to a studio where filmmakers and technology teams develop tools together on active productions. That combination is critical to where Utopai Studios is going next. We are building a global studio for a new era of entertainment, and Hans will be central to scaling the technology and infrastructure that make that possible.”
Ku added, “Utopai Studios has the opportunity to build something fundamentally different because the studio and the technology are growing together. We can take what we learn from real productions, turn those lessons directly into better products and workflows, and then bring those capabilities to filmmakers and studios around the world. My focus is on building PAI alongside filmmakers, giving them better tools to explore ideas, refine their work, and bring their creative vision to the screen while keeping creative decisions in their hands.”
