Google Cloud Partners with A.R. Rahman's Metahuman Band for AI Entertainment
When A.R. Rahman's avatar band Secret Mountain announced a partnership with Google Cloud, the news felt like a glimpse into the next kind of concert. Google’s cloud stack - especially its Vertex AI tools - will help spin music and shows from Rahman’s metahuman characters. It puts Google in the same arena as Meta’s AudioCraft and Amazon’s AWS DeepComposer, where the big players are all trying their hand at AI-driven media.
The move seems to be part of Google Cloud’s broader push into the AI-in-entertainment space, a market that MarketsandMarkets estimates could hit about $4.5 billion by 2028. For Secret Mountain’s four digital members, access to Google’s models could speed up content creation, letting fans maybe chat with the band or trigger new songs. The exact consumer product is still under wraps, though.
It’s a real test of how AI can fit into creative work. Critics have flagged AI-made music over copyright and authenticity concerns, but having a star like Rahman on board makes this a noteworthy experiment. Whether it takes off or stalls will likely shape how other studios think about AI in their own projects.
Google Cloud has partnered with Secret Mountain, the metahuman digital avatar band created by Oscar and Grammy-winning composer AR Rahman. The partnership will use Google Cloud’s infrastructure and AI models to develop a new form of interactive entertainment. Secret Mountain combines AI-powered synthetic avatars with music and storytelling to create a global digital music experience.
The band features six avatars, including Cara, an Irish singer-songwriter; Zen Tam, a Tamil rapper; and Blessing, an African percussionist and vocalist. The project relies on Google Cloud technologies, including Veo 3 for avatar embodiment and video generation, Imagen and Gemini Flash 2.5 Image (Nano Banana) for image creation, and Gemini 2.5 Pro for conversational AI. These systems will allow avatars to interact with fans in real time and respond dynamically using multimodal AI trained on custom datasets.
Rahman said, “Secret Mountain is about reimagining how music, storytelling, and technology come together to create new experiences for audiences all over the world.” He further added that behind each character is a team of producers, singers, creators, dancers, choreographers, actors, and mentors, each dedicated to their art.
This deal feels like another step for Big Tech to get a foothold in the creative world, not just by handing out servers. For Google Cloud it’s a chance to put its AI chops on display and maybe be seen as a partner that helps build the next wave of entertainment, not merely a back-end service. It also hints at a larger shift: cloud firms are starting to act like co-creators, blurring the line between tech supplier and media maker.
The project lands in a still-young but busy arena of AI-made music and virtual performers. The real hurdle is moving past the novelty factor and actually resonating with listeners. Having A.R.
Rahman’s name attached gives it instant street cred, yet it’s still unclear whether people will treat these digital personas as genuine artists. If Secret Mountain catches on, we could see new ways of thinking about artist-label deals and copyright, but it also throws up tricky questions about who really owns the art. I’ll be watching closely - it might end up being a key indicator of whether AI-driven entertainment can stick around.
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Common Questions Answered
What role does Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform play in the Secret Mountain partnership?
Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform provides the core artificial intelligence infrastructure that powers Secret Mountain's interactive entertainment experiences. This platform enables the creation of music and performances from A.R. Rahman's metahuman characters, serving as a technological foundation for the digital avatar band.
How does Secret Mountain combine different elements to create its digital music experience?
Secret Mountain integrates AI-powered synthetic avatars with original music compositions and narrative storytelling to produce a global digital music experience. The project features six distinct metahuman characters, including Cara the Irish singer-songwriter and Zen Tam the Tamil rapper, who perform together as a digital band.
What broader industry trend does this Google Cloud partnership with Secret Mountain represent?
This collaboration exemplifies the trend where major cloud providers like Google are competing to become essential partners in content creation rather than just infrastructure utilities. It signals Big Tech's strategic move to capture value in creative industries by positioning themselves as enablers of next-generation entertainment experiences.
Which tech companies is Google competing against through this AI music avatar initiative?
Google faces direct competition from other technology giants investing in AI-generated media, particularly Meta with its AudioCraft platform and Amazon. This partnership positions Google Cloud as a key player in the emerging field of AI-powered entertainment and content creation.