Australia artificial intelligence company Othelia Technologies is expanding to the U.S. with the hire of former Bento Box Entertainment CEO and cofounder Scott Greenberg.
Greenberg, an Emmy Award-winning producer (Bob’s Burgers), will serve as Othelia executive chairman. He’s investing his own money (Greenberg and his partners in Bento Box sold the animation company to Fox in 2019) into the company and will earn a cofounder title; Othelia’s move into America is being considered a relaunch of sorts.
Othelia Technologies’ new L.A. HQ will be run by Alexandra Hooven, who joins as chief growth officer and co-founder (yeah, they’re pretty loosely handing that title out). Othelia was (really) founded by Sydney-based CEO Kate Armstrong-Smith and chief technology officer Joe Couch. Hooven, who helped Greenberg launch Blockchain Creative Labs at Fox, will oversee Othelia’s product development and rollout to the creative community in the U.S. and globally.
Othelia’s flagship tool, Storykeeper, will launch in beta this fall. The beta will be free; future pricing is TBD. Storykeeper spent the past year in alpha with “a number of major studios and global streamers,” Othelia says.
Storykeeper is AI, but not generative AI — a big difference — it won’t create new content based on learned data. Storykeeper will be accessible to individual content creators and studio teams within film, television, social and gaming.
The tool “treats narrative text as structured data — bringing key story elements such as plot, characters, themes, timelines and world rules into one secure, interconnected platform,” the description reads.
Storykeeper “tracks all narrative connections, contradictions and cascading revisions across evolving drafts,” it continues, “enabling users with valuable efficiency, real-time control and clear visibility into the shape and scope of their IP.”
The creative data housed on Othelia will be fully owned and controlled by the user. Data will not be repurposed to train generative models, the company said.
“Throughout my career, I’ve seen first-hand how the right systems and technology can transform efficient production without compromising creativity,” Greenberg said. “In Othelia, Kate and Joe have built a powerful platform that complements the human creativity, intelligence and emotion required for storytelling and worldbuilding. Othelia gives creatives and studios the infrastructure to nurture, scale and protect the asset that audiences care about most — stories; and I’m looking forward to working with them and Alex as we introduce Othelia as an invaluable partner to the industry.”
Othelia has early backing from its lead investor Aliavia Ventures, a California-based venture capital firm. There’s also what the company calls “a syndicate of angel investors” including producer Deanne Weir, the former Sydney Film Festival chair and deputy chair of Screen Australia, and Clarence Capital Partners, among others.
“Everyone wants to create amazing stories, but creative teams still face countless narrative decisions and challenges from idea to distribution, despite increasing digitalisation of production workflows,” Armstrong-Smith and Couch said in a joint statement. “We’re excited about how Storykeeper can help the industry continue to astound audiences with their vision. With Scott’s sharp business acumen and Alex’s expertise, we’re thrilled about Othelia’s future as technology and entertainment further converge, spurring even more collaboration and creativity.”
“Everyone today is chasing faster creative output — generate a pitch, a scene, a visual. But speed without structure just creates more noise,” Hooven said. “The result is a wave of disparate content, with little staying power. What separates enduring stories isn’t just craft — it’s cohesion, intentionality and the ability to evolve without losing meaning. That’s what we’re building toward with Othelia and Storykeeper.”
