On July 24, former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick launched Lumi, an AI-powered storytelling platform to democratize content creation. 

The venture has secured $4 million in seed funding, led by Seven Seven Six and with participation from Kapor Capital and Impellent Ventures.

Notable angel investors include Mariam Naficy (founder of Minted), David Sze, Chamillionaire, and tech executives from Meta, Anthropic, ContextualAI, Sleeper, and Pave.

Lumi’s mission is to provide creators with tools to create, publish, and merchandise their stories independently. 

The platform leverages AI technology to streamline the creative process, allowing storytellers to focus on content while the system handles logistics.

“Lumi addresses an unnecessary dependency on gatekeepers that slows creators down. This allows creators to return to what they ultimately want to do: create,” said Kaepernick, now Lumi’s CEO.

The company initially focuses on comic book and graphic novel creators, offering a suite of tools for character creation, story planning, and final product formatting. 

Creators can access these features through three monthly subscription tiers: $20, $40, and $75. Higher tiers unlock advanced capabilities.

Lumi’s platform enables users to generate character imagery through AI, develop scripts with AI assistance, and format their work into a graphic novel. 

The company also plans to handle physical publishing and merchandising logistics, aiming to be a comprehensive solution for creators.

“The timing for this venture is perfect, as recent technological advancements have made it possible to realize Lumi’s vision,” stated Cristina Apple Georgoulakis, Partner at Seven Seven Six.

Kaepernick’s venture into tech entrepreneurship stems from his experiences in the media industry. He has been angel investing since 2017 and has served on Medium’s board since 2020, working alongside prominent Silicon Valley figures.

The former quarterback’s transition to tech comes at a politically charged moment in Silicon Valley. However, Kaepernick maintains his focus is on product development. 

“If we are serving our end user and creator in the best way possible, then we will have a successful company, and everything else will take care of itself,” he said in an interview with TechCrunch.

Lumi addresses biases in existing AI models, particularly in narrative representation. “AI models as they exist today will have the biases of the past built into them. We’ve seen that, we know that,” Kaepernick told TechCrunch.

As of July 24, Lumi is accepting sign-ups for its beta version. The company’s long-term vision is to develop into an end-to-end media company, offering creator tools, distribution, publishing, and merchandising services across various content formats.