key background
Druyan-Sagan, formerly Carl Sagan Productions, has licensed Sagan’s voice and likeness for decades, including in 2017 for an iPhone campaign by Apple, Fiat Chrysler in 2019 and Netflix in 2025. The estate is now managed by Ann Druyan, Sagan’s widow, and claims Luma’s advertisement eroded the exclusivity associated with Sagan’s branding. Luma raised $900 million from the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s AI arm at a $4 billion valuation in November, before another funding round in March valuing the startup at $9 billion. The company projected a workforce of 200 newly hired employees by 2027.
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surprising fact
Scarlett Johansson issued a legal threat against OpenAI in 2024 after the AI firm’s now-pulled chatbot voice Sky sounded like her voice. OpenAI acknowledged the similarities between Sky and Johansson, but said the voice was “not an imitation” and belonged to a “different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice.”
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further reading
ForbesAI Companies Are Buying—And Destroying—Antique Books. Here’s Why.By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs