Weta FX signs AI pact with Taiwan's content agency and teams up with local studio Moonshine

Weta FX, the Wellington-based visual effects company known for The Lord of the Rings and Avatar, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA). The stated goal is to help Taiwan become a hub for AI-driven content production in Asia. Weta FX chief executive Daniel Seah and TAICCA chair Sue Wang signed the document on November 6 in Taipei, on the opening day of the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF), which runs until November 9 at the Nangang Exhibition Center.

What the agreement covers

According to TAICCA's announcement, the partnership spans investment, technology research and talent development, linking Weta FX's international production experience with Taiwan's AI industry, its hardware and software supply chain and its creative workforce. The agency also presents it as a way to support Weta FX's own AI development; the company already works on AI with Amazon Web Services and AMD, TAICCA notes.

Seah described three strands, as reported by Variety and TAICCA. The first is cross-border technical cooperation with Moonshine Studio, a Taiwanese animation and VFX company led by Lin Chia-chi, whose work on the film 96 Minutes won a Golden Horse award for visual effects. Seah told Variety that this deal took about six months to put together. The second is jointly exploring investment in AI research and in Taiwanese film and TV projects, with Weta FX's international network used to bring them to wider audiences. The third is a talent programme offering young Taiwanese filmmakers internships and exchanges at Weta FX sites, with possible jobs afterwards.

Weta FX's chief technology officer, its head of research and development and a VFX supervisor travelled to Taipei for the signing. Culture minister Li Yuan, who attended, said AI and cultural technology will be among the ministry's priorities for the next four years.

What remains unclear

Neither side has published funding amounts, a timetable or details of what the AI research will involve, and the terms of the Moonshine arrangement have not been disclosed. TAICCA, set up by the Ministry of Culture in 2019, has previously backed Moonshine through an investment scheme of Taiwan's National Development Fund.

Seah, who spent 14 years at Digital Domain before joining Weta FX about two years ago, played down the idea that any company has a decisive lead in the technology. "On the AI road, nobody is really far, far ahead," he told Variety. The announcements did not say how the partnership will handle issues such as training data or the effect of AI tools on VFX jobs.