Social networks have run their course. People don't want to passively watch someone else live on the internet anymore - they want to play a role themselves. At least that's the conclusion of an American startup that just raised 17 million dollars (around 15.5 million euros) for an idea that combines role-play and a social network in one app.

The startup is called Status, founded by Fei Nur (CEO), Amit Bhatnagar and Pritesh Kadivala. Their concept: the user creates a character, enters a virtual universe and there can be a famous performer with millions of followers, a character from a favourite show, a candidate for president - or simply someone who "goes viral" on the internet. All the worlds in the app are built by the users themselves.

The figures are solid: 13 million created worlds, 5 million characters so far. "We use AI to create experiences that are brand-safe, interactive and endlessly dynamic," Nur says. "The early audience was mostly young women. And that's the audience that always decides which platform becomes culture."

The investors are a notable lineup: Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Union Square Ventures, LightShed Partners, Abstract. Rich Greenfield, partner at LightShed, said out loud what every media CEO is thinking quietly: "Every media company today is desperately looking for a way to make consumers live inside the worlds and characters they create."

In other words: TV and film are dead, the feed is discredited, and the big firms are looking for a way to keep people on "their" platforms. The solution sellers are offering investors: AI-generated role-play. The question nobody is asking out loud is - is this the future of entertainment, or a new form of passive broadcasting with more buttons? A Balkan reader can imagine what that looks like once it spills over into local conditions.