Technology Drives Creativity: Digital Domain Showcases R&D Achievements at WAIC 2025
Launching an all-in-one content creation platform to empower the "Shanghai Solution" with
AI-driven innovation
HONG KONG, July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference ("WAIC 2025") and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance arrived at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center and the Shanghai Expo Center. Under the theme "Global Solidarity in the AI Era," this grand event continues to serve as a critical platform as the "technology leader, application showcase, industry accelerator, and governance council." It brought together over a thousand experts, scholars, corporate executives, and elite representatives, along with 300,000 attendees, to witness the forefront of the AI wave. Among them, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, in collaboration with Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation and Cyberport, established the "Hong Kong Pavilion." Digital Domain Holdings Limited ("Digital Domain", Stock code: 547) was invited to showcase its R&D achievements in visual effects, virtual humans, and visualization at the exhibition area, demonstrating the positive integration of technological advancement and creative refinement in the AI-driven commercialization process.
With the ongoing rise of AI-powered tools, Digital Domain is dedicated to expanding its product and service offerings. It is shifting from focusing on a single content processing segment to exploring diverse creative methods and pursuing various commercial opportunities within an upstream system. This transition accelerates the development of multi-faceted consumer-grade sensory experiences. At WAIC 2025, Digital Domain launched an AI-powered all-in-one content creation platform, "AI DOMAIN": integrating large AI models, AI DOMAIN features a comprehensive toolkit for text, images, and audio. With seven main functions, such as text-to-image, image-to-video, local repainting, style transfer, smart image expansion, image-video super-resolution, and virtual human generation, it enables creators of all backgrounds and skill levels to produce high-quality visual content efficiently and effectively.
Create a comprehensive incubation system to revolutionize the creative industry with AI
After more than 30 years of transformation, Digital Domain, born in Hollywood, has achieved global expansion in virtual humans, visual effects, and visualisation. The pursuit of technology and creativity has driven Digital Domain to introduce unparalleled artistic vision into the construction of films and television series. Its representative works include Oscar-winning films for "Best Visual Effects" such as Titanic, What Dreams May Come, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Since 2017, Digital Domain has consistently contributed to the visual spectacle of China's Spring Festival film season, including blockbusters like Wolf Warrior 2 and The Eight Hundred, which topped the annual box office charts.
In the consumer sector, AI is gradually expanding across upstream, midstream, and downstream parts of the industry. This evolution has significantly shifted sensory experiences towards experimental and immersive formats. Digital Domain has integrated its core business closely with AI, making it one of the most effective methods for content production.
Digital Domain has recently launched the AI-powered image creation tool "HANBAO." Using related tools, this solution helps creators produce short videos and has already been used in commercial ads for Alibaba Cloud and MediaTek. The release of AI DOMAIN marks another strategic step by Digital Domain, aimed at enhancing its products and services by creating a comprehensive incubation ecosystem that encompasses everything from idea generation and technology development to content creation. This strategy uses a creative approach that balances efficiency and quality to meet the increasing consumer demand for high-quality sensory experiences.
Mr. William WONG, CEO of Digital Domain, stated: "Amidst the tide of AI, Digital Domain is committed to integrating relevant tools into its core businesses such as virtual humans, visual effects, and visualisation, leveraging products and services to build a highly competitive 'moat.' In the face of ever-evolving creative dimensions, Digital Domain has chosen Hong Kong as its hub while bolstering the 'Shanghai Solution.' Our colleagues stationed here will actively deploy local operations in HANBAO and AI DOMAIN, driving the integration and mutual success of the industry's upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors."
During WAIC 2025, Digital Domain and WISE AI reached a collaborative agreement. The latter is committed to introducing solutions such as intelligent agents and was founded by Mr. David LIM, who is a member of the National Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence Committee appointed by Malaysia's Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation. He also serves as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 2025 ASEAN AI Business Summit. Both parties plan to further explore the empowering role of HANBAO and AI DOMAIN in consumer-level sensory experiences.
Enhance the collaboration mechanism between industry, academia, and research to accelerate the cultivation of interdisciplinary professionals
Multiple reports indicate that the robust momentum demonstrated by AI has led to a year-on-year increase in China's domestic demand for multidisciplinary talents since 2019. By the first half of 2025, this gap has surged by 37% over the past six months, exceeding a total of 5 million individuals.
Since launching its operations in Beijing, Shanghai, and other locations in 2016, Digital Domain has dedicated itself to creating opportunities for local creative talents and tech elites in China to realize their potential. Guided by this vision, Digital Domain has partnered with the University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Design Institute, Anhui Institute of Information Technology, and the University of International Business and Economics to implement a series of industry-academia-research initiatives, paving a "fast track" for nurturing versatile professionals.
On July 26, the "AI Innovation and Education Forum," hosted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and organized by its Shanghai Industry-Education Integration Center, was grandly held at WAIC 2025. Dr. Ta-Chien SUN, Executive Director of Digital Domain, and Ms. Hongjie LIU, General Manager of Digital Domain China, attended the event. During the forum, Digital Domain joined forces with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Shanghai Center, Shanghai Film Co., Ltd., and MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. to establish the "Digital Visual Innovation Alliance." Ms. Hongjie LIU, along with Mr. Yue YU, Special Assistant to the Chief Vice President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Industry Head of its Shanghai Center; Mr. Yun DAI, Director and General Manager of Shanghai Film Co., Ltd.; and Mr. Guoliang SUN, Chief Product Officer and Senior Vice President of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., jointly unveiled alliance.
By integrating diverse strengths, the alliance aims to pioneer intelligent and scalable content production channels while providing systematic support for cultivating versatile professionals. Its key focus areas are closely tied to AI, encompassing not only the innovation of short video production processes but also the promotion of mass production of short dramas and the unleashing of the commercial potential of digital characters.
"Especially in the realm of pan-entertainment, consumer-grade sensory experiences are transitioning from extensive expansion to meticulous refinement, making the creation of 'premium content' a consensus among creators," emphasized Dr. Ta-Chien SUN. "Digital Domain will strengthen the integration of virtual humans, visual effects, visualisation with AI, providing creators with optimized pathways for content production. Additionally, leveraging an upgraded industry-academia-research collaboration mechanism will enhance the intelligence, efficiency, and effectiveness of the creative process."
About Digital Domain
Digital Domain is a pioneer in creating transportive experiences. After more than three decades of evolution, the company has transitioned from its Hollywood origins to achieve global expansion in areas such as Visual Effects (VFX), AI Virtual Humans, and Visualization technologies. Digital Domain boasts a rich legacy, having contributed to hundreds of films and television series, thousands of commercials, game graphics, and experimental immersive experiences. Some of its most notable accomplishments include winning Academy Awards for "Best Visual Effects" for films like Titanic, What Dreams May Come, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as well as contributing to blockbuster classics such as The Avengers series and the fourth season of the popular series Stranger Things.
Digital Domain has charted a pioneering course into the realms of AI and virtual reality since 2016, revolutionizing the creation of emotionally expressive and photorealistic virtual humans in real-time. The company's AI Virtual Human technology is widely applicable across diverse sectors, including healthcare, elderly services, training and education, concierge services, BFSI, the public sector, entertainment, etc. It enhances service efficiency, user experience, and business value.
Since establishing the R&D Center at Hong Kong Science Park in Q4 2024, Digital Domain has been actively collaborating with industry partners, universities, and research institutions to explore opportunities in AI development and digital transformation.
Digital Domain is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock code: 547) and is headquartered in Hong Kong. The company operates in multiple cities, including Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hyderabad, among others.
For more information, visit the official website - www.digitaldomain.com.
SOURCE Digital Domain
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