Colin Kaepernick Raises $4M In A Funding Round Led By Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six To Launch An AI Startup

Colin Kaepernick is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to help storytellers.

Kaepernick has been pouring into new ventures following his departure from the NFL, which came after he started kneeling in 2016 during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial injustice, TIME reports.

Kaepernick last played for the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 1, 2017, and when he became a free agent he was not signed by a new team, per ABC-7. Since then he has focused his attention in areas that include venture capital. As AFROTECH™ mentioned, he joined KINLÒ, tennis star Naomi Osaka’ s skincare company, serving as an investor and board member. He also is a children’s author and released “I Color Myself Different,” in April 2022, which depicts his experience of embracing his Blackness as an individual adopted into a white family.

Kaepernick’s latest endeavor focuses on supporting other storytellers, and he is utilizing AI to achieve this goal. TIME mentioned he raised $4 million in a round led by Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six to launch Lumi, an AI platform.

“The majority of the world’s stories never come to life. Most people don’t have access or inroads to publishers or platforms—or they may have a gap in their skill set that’s a barrier for them to be able to create,” he told TIME. “We’re going to see a whole new world of stories and perspectives,” Kaepernick said.

He adds he experienced several challenges himself through the creation of his own media company, Ra Vision Media, and publishing company, Kaepernick Publishing. He cited several issues such as “long production timelines, high costs, and creators not having ownership over the work they create.”

Lumi now serves as a solution to creators who are looking to launch comics, graphic novels, and manga, among other “hybrid written-illustrated stories.” Creators will be able to develop characters, their traits, and storylines. Afterward, they can use an image-generation tool to illustrate these elements.

“You can go back and forth with your AI companion and test ideas, ‘I want to change the ending,’ or ‘I want it to be more comedic or dramatic,’” Kaepernick explained to the outlet.

Once complete, Lumi will offer additional support to creators who are looking to share their work. They will be able to publish, share, and order print copies of their work all through the platform. They can also design and sell merchandise related to their IP with the help of AI.

“We talked to hundreds of creators and asked what their pain points were,” Kaepernick expressed. “Some were trying to fundraise money to get projects off the ground. Others don’t know how to actually enter the space, or don’t have a pathway or have been rejected. And other creators didn’t want to handle the logistics of fundraising and manufacturing and project management and distribution. We hope that this creates a path for people to actually thrive off of the creativity that they’re bringing to the world.”