What is Colin Kaepernick's AI startup Lumi? Ex-49ers QB launches new business after raising $4,000,000 in funding
Colin Kaepernick is continuing to make news long after his last professional football snap. On Wednesday, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who was last seen on the field in 2016, launched Lumi, a subscription-based AI tool that aids people in drawing, publishing and selling comics.
The company's goal, according to him, is "democratizing storytelling" – creators on the platform will have full ownership of their works.
Besides comics, it also allows people to create merchandise like clothing around said works. Manufacture, shipping and sales will be the company's responsibility.
In an interview with Time magazine, Kaepernick, a noted comics fan, said the idea for Lumi came to him during the founding of his companies Ra Vision Media and Kaepernick Publishing. To fund this startup, he raised $4 million in funding from Seven Seven Six, a capital firm owned Alexis by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
According to him, the venture is an extension of his activism, which he has been doing since he started kneeling during the national anthem in 2016:
“The majority of the world’s stories never come to life," Kaepernick said. "Most people don’t have access or inroads to publishers or platforms — or they may have a gap in their skillset that’s a barrier for them to be able to create. We’re going to see a whole new world of stories and perspectives.”
Colin Kaepernick downplays Lumi's threat on traditional artistic mediums
Lately, there has been a growing backlash towards the proliferation of AI tools like ChatGPT. Detractors claim that it is taking away jobs like writers, illustrators and even actors, which was a major factor in September's Hollywood strikes.
But for Colin Kaepernick, Lumi is not meant to be a replacement for traditional arts.
“I understand the concerns," Kaepernick said. "The creators have to be in the driver’s seat. This is another tool for them to be able to hopefully create in a better, more effective way, and that gives them freedom to create stories that they wanted to but couldn’t before.”
According to him, it is to narrative illustration what the iPhone was to photography.
“We saw a whole new world of photography and photos," Kaepernick said. "But that didn't eliminate traditional photographers or their craft and expertise. We look at this in a similar way.”
The app is in its beta stage. Subscription prices are unknown.