Fabrizio Perrone, CEO of 2Watch, a start-up specialising in the development of innovative entertainment tools, talks to Startupbusiness and offers his view on the role of artificial intelligence both in general terms and in the field in which his company operates.
The AI that is revolutionising our lives divides public opinion, especially when it comes to the emotional aspect. As an expert in the field, what is the potential of AI applied to both people’s daily lives and businesses?
The division in public opinion is understandable: every major technological revolution brings with it enthusiasm but also legitimate fears. What I see, however, is that the debate often focuses on extreme scenarios, utopia or dystopia, when the reality is much more nuanced and interesting. In everyday life, AI is already transforming how we interact with the world without us even noticing. From voice assistants that manage our homes, to recommendation systems that suggest what to watch or listen to, to algorithms that optimise the routes we take every day. The real potential lies in democratisation: today, anyone can access tools that until a few years ago were reserved for large companies with huge budgets or highly specialised personnel.
For businesses, AI is a real game-changer on three fronts. First, operational efficiency: automating repetitive processes allows people to focus on higher value-added activities. Second, personalisation at scale: we can now offer customised experiences to millions of users simultaneously. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the acceleration of innovation: we can test ideas, iterate and experiment at a speed that was previously unthinkable.
The key is not to see AI as a substitute for humans, but as an amplifier. The best applications are those where artificial intelligence enhances human creativity, intuition and empathy, rather than replacing them.
Can AI support the business creativity process and, in a certain sense, also optimise the costs and production times of a project?
Absolutely, and this is one of the most fascinating aspects of AI in the world of content creation. Contrary to what many fear, AI is not killing creativity, it is liberating it. Consider the traditional creative process: a team spends weeks developing concepts, creating drafts, and testing variations. With AI, starting from at least one idea developed by a human brain and correctly exposed to the machine, you can generate dozens of creative variations in hours, allowing the team to focus on the strategy, the message, and the emotion you want to convey.
In terms of costs, the impact is revolutionary. What used to require a photo shoot with a location, models, photographers and stylists can now be achieved with comparable quality at a fraction of the cost. We are talking about reductions of 60-70% in many cases. This does not mean that photographers and creatives are losing work, but that they can do more, experiment more and serve customers who previously could not afford certain standards. The same applies to the animation and visual effects industry. Production times are drastically shortened. A project that used to take weeks can now be completed in days. This means greater agility: you can react quickly to trends, test more concepts before launch, and iterate based on real feedback.
But beware: optimisation only works if you have a structured approach and the ability to keep up with technology that moves at ultrasonic speed. AI is extremely powerful, but it must be guided with expertise and strategic vision. The value lies not in the technology itself, but in how you integrate it into creative processes.
In all this, we must not forget that AI should be seen as an accelerator of human intelligence, supporting the future and innovative ideas. How can we generate value through AI?
This is the fundamental question, and the answer starts with a change in mindset. AI is not an end, it is a means. Value is not generated by technology, it is generated by the way we use it to solve real problems and create memorable experiences. First of all, we need to identify where AI can really make a difference. It makes no sense to apply it everywhere: it should be used strategically where it can multiply human impact. In our industry, for example, AI excels at scalable content production while maintaining high quality, or at supporting the creative team to think more broadly, but communication strategy, the emotion you want to convey, and the message you want to get across to those who view your content remain the domain of humans. Value is generated when AI allows you to do things that were previously impossible. Creating personalised content for different audience segments. Quickly testing dozens of creative variations before investing significant budget. Producing premium content at affordable costs, even for small businesses. This levels the playing field: a start-up today can compete visually with multinationals.
Another crucial aspect is training. Value comes from people who know how to use AI intelligently. You don’t need years of programming experience, you need the right mindset: curiosity, a desire to experiment, and the ability to iterate quickly. We can train young teams from scratch on these technologies and see them become extremely productive in a matter of months. Finally, you create real value when you use AI to scale what works. Have you found a successful format? With AI, you can replicate it, adapt it to different markets, and customise it for specific audiences. This is generating value: multiplying the impact of your best ideas.
2Watch is an innovative, next-generation entertainment hub, the result of a process of constant growth that has seen the start-up expand its influence not only in gaming, where it all began, but also in other key sectors such as education, comedy and sport, to name but a few. What can we expect in the near future?
The journey of 2Watch is concrete proof of how technological innovation and strategic vision can create exponential growth. We started out in gaming in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, when everyone thought it was madness to launch a start-up. Instead, it was the perfect moment: people were looking for new forms of digital entertainment.
The growth we have achieved is extraordinary: +901% over the three-year period, which has earned us third place in the Deloitte Fast 500 EMEA ranking. But the recognition we are most proud of is being #67 in the Sifted 250, the top Italian company in terms of growth with +253.55% in two years. We are the only entertainment company among the 250, the only one in Southern Italy, and we have achieved this with 19 people (pictured is the team, ed.) compared to an average of 98, and with €1.3 million raised compared to an average of €93.5 million for the top 250. This shows that it is possible to scale up from Southern Italy, that size does not matter if you have the right strategy.
This growth was not accidental. It is the result of a clear strategy: to build an ecosystem of vertical media brands that speak authentic languages to specific communities. Over 100 million monthly views through properties such as Ugolize in comedy, Gamethology in gaming, Vico Alleria in entertainment, and Generazione STEM in science education.
For the immediate future, we are accelerating in three areas. First, international expansion: our AI technologies allow us to adapt content for different European markets while maintaining authenticity and engagement. Second, strategic acquisitions through a buy-and-build model: we are evaluating digital IP, talent and complementary technologies that can strengthen our ecosystem. Third, further verticalisation: new media brands in sectors that are currently digitally underserved.
But the real challenge is to become the go-to partner for brands that want to speak to the younger generations in an authentic way. Not just as an agency that produces content, but as an ecosystem player that creates, distributes and amplifies through real, engaged communities. And we want to continue to prove that from southern Italy, with lean teams and limited resources but with vision and technology, it is possible to compete, and win, at a European level.
We can now say that the future, innovation and the development of new entertainment formats necessarily involve the development and use of AI. 2Watch has recently positioned itself as an innovative player in the field of video production, with a particular focus on creating scalable content through the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and CGI. What projects are in the pipeline or have already been completed?
It’s true, AI is no longer an option but a necessity for those who want to innovate in entertainment. Those who lag behind on this front risk finding themselves out of the market in a few years. We have made a strategic choice: to invest heavily in proprietary technologies that integrate AI, CGI and motion capture. Among the projects already completed, there are some that concretely demonstrate the potential of this approach. We have created photo shoots entirely generated by AI for fashion brands such as Baci & Abbracci and Pinko, achieving a level of realism and fidelity to the products that has amazed even us. We are talking about complete campaigns, models, settings and still lifes, created without physical sets but with a quality indistinguishable from traditional shoots.
In the advertising world, we have produced end-to-end AI commercials for brands such as San Benedetto and BYD, managing the entire process from creative conception to post-production with proprietary technologies. The result? Premium content at a fraction of the traditional cost and drastically reduced production times.
One particularly interesting project was with Generali, where we developed photorealistic brand avatars for customer care and internal training. These digital characters can interact, respond, train, operate 24/7 and are infinitely scalable. Another concrete activity is our strategic partnership with production and distribution companies, which we support through automation and the creation of formats for pre-production, both for programmes already on air and for new broadcasts.
And then there is FOOH (fake out of home) content, which creates photorealistic digital illusions. We have created campaigns that have generated millions of organic views, allowing brands to advertise in ways that would be impossible in the physical world. The Betotal case, for example, demonstrated how impossible content can create exponential engagement.
We have even more ambitious projects in the pipeline. We are developing virtual idols, fully digital streamers who can host live events, participate in physical events, and create content independently thanks to AI and motion capture. Imagine digital influencers with their own personalities, always available, and globally scalable.
We are also building what we call “2Watch AI Studio”, a proprietary platform that will allow not only us but also other creators and brands to produce high-quality AI-powered content. The goal is to democratise access to these technologies, creating an ecosystem where creativity and technology meet.
Our approach is that of a system integrator: we don’t use AI because it’s trendy, we strategically integrate it into creative workflows to create real value. Each project starts with a clear business objective, then we use the most appropriate technological mix, AI, CGI, virtual production, to achieve it in the most efficient way.
We want to completely redefine the ecosystem of digital content production and distribution in Europe. Not only by producing better and faster, but by creating entirely new formats that are only possible thanks to these technologies. The future of entertainment is phygital, physical and digital together, and we are building the infrastructure to make it a reality.
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