AI service specialist company ESTsoft (CEO Jung Sang Won) has signed a contract on the 10th for the creation of virtual humans and IP (Intellectual Property) rights for idols produced from MBC's survival audition program 'After School Excitement', produced by Funky Studio and MEO (CEO Joy Hyun), the overall management company for the production.

With this contract, ESTsoft will expand its virtual human business into the entertainment domain, following AI announcers and AI instructors. In the future, ESTsoft will receive the original content from MEO for the final 7 people selected through the broadcasting program to produce virtual humans.

ESTsoft will fully launch the IP business in line with the launch timing of the 'After School Excitement' virtual humans. To that end, it has secured exclusive rights to all possible businesses using virtual humans, including ▲performance business, ▲advertising model business, ▲interactive application business, ▲content production and distribution business, and ▲exhibition and music source business. The IP exclusivity is valid in all countries worldwide, not just domestically.

The IP business has been prepared since last year. An IP specialist was recruited and an AI business division established for full-scale business operations. This organization is strengthening existing services alongside operations like 'After School Excitement.' Projects for advanced development of AI announcers and instructors are also being prepared in collaboration with news specialized channels and education companies.

The IP of 'After School Excitement' is already receiving attention both domestically and internationally. About 90,000 people from the United States, China, Japan, South America, and Canada have applied to the program, and the cumulative views of related videos have exceeded 700 million. The number of votes per day also reached 400,000, recording first place in buzzworthy non-drama categories.

Recently, even before the debut members were confirmed, they have made an unprecedented achievement by signing a contract with Universal Music, a major record company in Japan. As it is already being introduced through terrestrial broadcaster TV Tokyo and OTT platform Paravi in Japan, both companies plan to use this as an opportunity for global expansion.

MEO CEO Joy Hyun stated, "Both companies agreed to maximize the added value of the existing IP with virtual human technology, leading to this contract." She added, "With high anticipation, we are partnering with ESTsoft, which possesses top-tier virtual human technology, and we intend to create significant outcomes both domestically and internationally through a long-term strategic partnership."

ESTsoft CEO Jung Sang Won said, "With this contract securing a global IP, we will concentrate our internal capabilities for the project's success." He continued, "We plan to rapidly expand our virtual human services this year to diverse fields such as commerce and sports, specializing ESTsoft as a virtual human agency, and we will take the lead in responding to the metaverse industry."

Meanwhile, 'After School Excitement' is a terrestrial audition program that scouts and nurtures a global girl group to challenge the Billboard charts. The show has attracted attention as Han Dong Chul PD, who sparked the audition program craze with successful productions such as 'Produce 101', 'Show Me The Money', and 'Unpretty Rapstar,' took charge of the production.