UAE Business Awards 2026 16 Jul23190 Best AI-First Creative Studio 2026 & MEA Markets Client Service Excellence Award 2026 AI has undoubtedly taken the creative industry by storm over the last couple of years, and its advanced generative tools allow for the creation of cinematic content that would otherwise not be possible without huge crews and budgets. Yet, for many companies, AI is just an add-on. What sets FOID AI Studio apart is that its entire pipeline is built around it. For more on the 360-degree approach the studio takes to its AI-first work, we caught up with Vinod Padmanabhan Vijay Kumar, the company’s owner. At FOID AI Studio in Dubai, brands come to life in ways that they and their customers never would have imagined. Since launching three years ago, the company has strived to utilise the synergy of AI technology and human expertise to reach the next milestone in content creation. The encompassing approach it takes sees everything from the initial concept and the scripting through to the creation and the final delivery of this cinematic content, with the AIfirst nature of the company allowing it to move faster and experiment more. Projects that the company has worked on over the last three years have been incredibly broad, ranging from commercial campaigns and branded films through to long-format storytelling. These have taken place with brands across the automative, retail, technology, and telecommunications industries. Some of its clients include Samsung, ROKU TV, Sony Music, Landmark Group UAE and Air India, demonstrating not only how widespread AI is becoming in the creative sector, but also the scale of the brands that are harnessing it, including global market leaders. Beyond the end-to-end AI content creation it delivers, another arm of FOID sees it consult with brands and other studios on how they can integrate AI into their creative workflows in a way that is both practical and scalable. The industry is changing, and those who do not keep up with the times will be left behind. This service ensures this will not happen, fostering a future where cinematic storytelling is powered by cutting-edge AI and the brands behind it can use this technology to thrive. When approaching a new client, the team at FOID use pitch decks to impress and showcase what is possible using their AI. Vinod continued: “We use their brief and work on a pitch deck that helps them to clearly visualise the outlined concepts through our AI imagery.” Sometimes, test videos of the ideas that come through are also created. This makes a great first impression, as clients are not used to seeing a realistic film of their script before the project has even be commissioned. Again, this demonstrates how AI is bringing things that were previously impossible to life, and the benefits of this for its clients are almost endless. The UAE more broadly has recognised this, and this is why it is an AI-friendly nation and has emerged as a leader in the field of AI-first content. Vinod explained that almost every client it works with in the country is open to using generative AI across their campaigns, and it has not faced any challenges during its three years in this space. The tools themselves are obviously important, but the key thing about the UAE and other GCC nations is that clients value the talent here over anything else, leading to better budgets on projects than it might get in other regions. And this team more than deliver, going beyond generating visuals to build real worlds. Structured universes and repeatable pipelines then make multi-episode campaigns and scalable IP deployment possible, and the cinematic discipline this is underpinned with sees that everything comes together perfectly for clients. “We approach AI with the mindset of filmmakers. I come from a traditional filmmaking background and have been an Ad film Director for over 20 years. I have directed campaigns for Ferrari, Google, Nissan, Honda, Unilever etc. for the GCC, Asian, European and Chinese markets. That’s why our work doesn’t look like ‘AI content’. It looks like cinema.” Big things are in the pipeline for FOID AI Studio this year, including its foray into long-format content creation like episodic series shows and feature-length films. Their award-winning film “The Secret Life Of A Shoe” is already on ROKU TV’s Best of AI Season 01across all of North America and South American markets. Their work is regularly featured on the spotlight of Escape TV (Founder John Gaeta is the Oscar-awardwinning VFX supervisor of the Matrix Trilogy). It is also looking into IP development and creating its own tech platform, on which it can map these AI pipelines. Smooth sailing has been the tone for Vinod thus far, and, having used AI to break free from the dependency of others and do his own thing, we wish him and his creative AI studio all the best for the rest of 2026 and beyond. More on these projects and services can be found at the web address below. Contact Details Contact: Vinod Padmanabhan Vijay Kumar Company: FOID AI Studio Web Address: https://foiddesignstudio.com/
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