Curious Refuge Acquired by Promise

Curious Refuge Gets Acquired by Promise | A Letter from Caleb & Shelby

Hey friends,

What a wild ride.

Two years ago, we started experimenting with AI technology for filmmaking—and let’s just say we were unaware of the rocketship we were boarding. Today (just 19 months later), Curious Refuge is the world’s premiere AI storytelling community. And it’s all because of you.

In that time, we’ve hosted dozens of events across the globe, connected with storytellers at major film festivals, and helped over 4000 creatives navigate this gigantic change in creative expression. What began as a side project now reaches students in over 170 countries, opening doors to new careers, creative collabs, and friendships.

A Photo from Our First AI Filmmaking Meet Up

From day one, our goal has been clear: to guide creative people through the AI revolution. That’s why we’ve partnered with brilliant instructors like Dave Clark, Fred Grinstein, Storybook Studios, Kavan Cardoza, and so many others who have shared their insights through office hours, workshops, and our speaker series. It’s truly wild to experience how kind and open the community has been. 

But we’ve also realized something… we’ve been dreaming too small.

A true creative ecosystem isn’t just about education—it’s about action. It’s about giving you real-world opportunities to create projects that showcase your creative vision. It’s about opening doors for people who don’t normally have a seat at the table.

A Photo Taken at the First Ever Generative AI Tournament at NAB 2024 hosted by Curious Refuge

We don’t just want to teach AI storytelling.

We want to create opportunities for incredible stories to be told.

We want to be both a film school and the studio of the future.

That’s why today’s announcement that we’ve been acquired by Promise is so friggin’ exciting.

As many of you know, Promise’s Chief Creative Officer Dave Clark isn’t just an incredible instructor—he’s also one of our best friends. From the moment we met, we knew we were cut from the same cloth. Creative. Productive. Dreamers who were amazed by the new creative possibilities.

Images from Meetups All Around the World

So when we heard that he was launching a studio with George Strompolos and Jamie Byrne, we were immediately intrigued.

As it turns out, their approach to generative AI storytelling is nothing short of brilliant.

We sat down, shared our dreams, and then had a crazy idea: What if we joined forces?

Their studio would innovate and create groundbreaking AI projects. We would continue to train the next wave of artists and storytellers. Together, we’d close the loop and finally build the creative studio we’ve all been dreaming of. The techniques we learn at Promise will inform the training at Curious Refuge, and the artists who train at Curious Refuge will be uniquely suited for opportunities at Promise and beyond. 

We think it’s fitting that the studio’s name is Promise, because here’s our promise to you: We will continue to operate in the same way that we have for the last 19 months. We will continue as Curious Refuge and foster the online AI community in new and creative ways. We will create the most amazing, cutting-edge coursework and have a blast along the way.

So let’s go.

Let’s change the industry.

Let’s build a new creative era—together.

Much love,
Caleb + Shelby

PS: Check out Caleb’s interview with The Hollywood Reporter.