'South Park' Creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone Gain $20 Million In Financing For Deepfake Venture

Emmy Award-winning writers and producers, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, best known as the co-creators of the longtime animated comedy series "South Park," are venturing into the "deepfake" realm. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the creators have started a new company called Deep Voodo out of their Park County holding firm. Deep Voodoo previously used the tech for a Kendrick Lamar music video and the YouTube series, "Sassy Justice."

The hope is to reportedly use Deep Voodo as a platform for artists and creators in the entertainment industry to incorporate deepfake tech within their work.

Deep Voodoo has reportedly already raised $20 million of funding led by Connect Ventures, which is a joint partnership between CAA and VC firm New Enterprise Associates. Deepfakes utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to replace faces on characters.

The deepfake tech was previously utilized by Parker and Stone for their YouTube web series, "Sassy Justice," which parodied Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, and others. The Deep Voodoo tech was also used in Kendrick Lamar's music video, "The Heart - Part 5," released earlier in May.

https://youtu.be/uAPUkgeiFVY

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence and machine learning to replace faces on characters. Stone and Parker previously used the technology in a web series they created called Sassy Justice, in which it was used to parody Donald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg, among others. Kendrick Lamar also used Deep Voodoo technology in a music video this year.

Speaking on the venture, Stone commented, "We stumbled upon this amazing technology and ended up recruiting the best deepfake artists in the world." He continued, "We are psyched to share their brilliance with the Hollywood creative community."

Connect Ventures' Michael Blank also praised Deep Voodoo's tech to support entertainment productions in innovative ways that are quicker and more "cost-effective" ways than traditional visual effects technology.

Parker and Stone originally began their Deep Voodoo venture as part of their Park County firm, which handles South Park, their award-winning musical The Book of Mormon, and the Casa Bonita restaurant. They've since transformed it into its own entity, and the Connect Ventures fundraising marks Deep Voodoo's first external round of financing.

Parker and Stone's hit animated series, "South Park," first hit the airwaves over 25 years ago in August 1997. The show recently wrapped its 25th season earlier in March.

As reported by The Blast, Parker and Stone inked a deal with MTV Entertainment Studios in August 2021 to keep producing the series through 2027, extending the show to Season 30 on Comedy Central. The deal also includes 14 original made-for-streaming movies exclusively on Paramount+, with two films debuting last year.

Parker and Stone have both won Emmy and Peabody Awards for their work on the series. It's executive produced by Parker, Stone, Anne Garefino, and Frank C. Agnone II. Eric Stough, Adrien Bear, Bruce Howell, and Vernon Chatman produce the show, with Chris Brion serving as Creative Director of South Park Digital Studios.

Comedy Central has not yet announced the debut date for Season 26 of the long-running show. Previous episodes of "South Park" are streaming for free on the show's official website.