Xumo founder Colin Petrie-Norris launches startup to produce AI-generated TV shows: ‘We’re taking the route of people empowerment’

Starting out as a University of Cape Town-educated structural engineer, Colin Petrie-Norris has an entrepreneurial track record for spotting foundational roles in emerging media-tech high-rises. Most notably, he founded Xumo in 2011, nearly a decade before free, ad-supported streaming became a multi-billion-dollar global business. After selling Xumo to Comcast for $100 million five years ago, and collecting a W2 for a stretch from the cable conglomerate, Petrie-Norris is back in building mode. Last week, he announced the launch of Fairground Entertainment, a startup that will leverage a growing creator community to produce generative-AI TV series. Viant, which backed Xumo, is leading an initial funding round of $4 million for Fairground. In our Next TMT Talks podcast, Petrie-Norris told us he plans “empowerment” for creatives, not replacement. (The link below takes you to our Next TMT homepage to hear the podcast. Once you’re there, do us a favor and click a “like,” or comment to let us know what you think. Don’t be too hard on David.)