Aeos founder Varun Mayya cites production costs falling from $1,000 to $50 per hour, while warning that AI-generated content alone cannot build the audience relationships businesses need to succeed
Sharjah, October 15, 2026
Artificial intelligence is reducing content production costs by as much as 95%, but the ability to attract and retain an engaged audience is becoming an increasingly valuable competitive advantage, Indian entrepreneur and AI developer Varun Mayya told the Sharjah Investment Forum 2026 (SIF 2026) on Thursday.
Delivering a keynote on investing in the future economy, Mayya, Founder and CEO of Aeos, cited Pocket FM, where he estimated production costs had fallen from approximately $1,000 to $50 per hour. He argued that as AI makes content, applications and products cheaper to create, businesses must differentiate themselves through creativity, audience engagement and lasting customer relationships.
“There is one thing AI cannot do. It cannot create distribution,” Mayya said. “Do I have an audience that cares about me? Do I have somebody that is clicking on my videos when I put it out? Do I have a set of people that are interested in things that I’m creating? I call that distribution.”
Describing audience relationships as a business’s “only scalable moat”, he added: “AI makes products easier to build. Attention is scarce to gain. The owner of the audience wins.”
AI transforms the economics of content production
Mayya highlighted how AI-powered video, audio and design tools are enabling businesses to scale production with fewer resources and shorter turnaround times.
His company, Aeos, produces approximately 2,000 videos monthly using AI-enabled workflows involving synthetic presenters, generated voices, motion graphics and supporting footage.
“Last month we did 1.5 billion English views across the globe, across 10 channels. We are completely bootstrapped. We had no investors.”
“If we tried to create these videos pre-AI, it would cost us 10 times as much,” he said.
Mayya also cited Trivago’s use of virtual avatars to adapt advertisements for different languages and markets. Demonstrating AI’s production capabilities, he shared examples including a video featuring a virtual character that attracted approximately 30 million views, 185 brand visuals produced in three days, and three AI-generated videos created for approximately 75 cents.
Human creativity remains essential
Despite these efficiencies, Mayya cautioned that widespread access to AI tools could lead to increasingly similar content, making creative direction and audience understanding essential to differentiation.
“The way to beat it is to feed it an input,” he said, explaining how visual references and creative examples can help businesses produce more distinctive work.
“AI requires inspiration the same way as humans do,” he added.
He emphasised that while AI can accelerate production, human judgment remains central to creating content that resonates with audiences. He also discussed AI applications in identifying collaborators and recruitment outreach, alongside security risks associated with voice-cloning technologies.
Organised by the Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah) in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Investment, the ninth SIF takes place on October 14–15 at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre under the theme “Building Adaptive Economies”. The forum is expected to welcome more than 10,000 participants from over 60 countries, with more than 80 speakers and over 140 activities.
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