Tilly Norwood studio Xicoia has hired its “leading architect of the Tillyverse” to work on the “rapid expansion” of the AI actor.
Mark Whelan joins from Amazon’s Prime Video, where he worked across brands like The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm. Xicoia is describing Whelan as its first major hire.
Whelan has been brought in to work on the “rapid expansion of AI actor Tilly Norwood and the launch of the Tillyverse, a dynamic, constantly evolving digital universe where Tilly and a new generation of AI characters will live, collaborate and build careers.” He will also lead the team in the development of new proprietary AI characters for use by Xicoia and its umbrella studio Particle6, as well as oversee the creation of bespoke AI talent commissioned by third parties.
Whelan led Prime Video social expansion across numerous territories and spent six years shaping EU-wide social strategy for the likes of The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm. During his tenure, he led on YouTube formats — one of which, De Knop, evolved into an Amazon Original.
Alongside Eline van der Velden, who runs Xicoia and Particle6, Whelan’s focus will be the Tillyverse. Norwood is Xicoia’s controversial AI actor creation, which has attracted the ire of big Hollywood stars and unions. Speaking exclusively to Deadline last year, van der Velden stressed AI actors will never replace real actors as she said the team plan to create 40 diverse characters in the AI actor world, which Whelan is now working across.
Van der Velden said she and Whelan will “together, build something entirely new.” “Tilly Norwood isn’t just an AI character — she’s a personality, a brand, and a future global superstar with a compelling narrative arc,” he added. “Mark will help us craft and shape every layer of her world, from her humour, daily life and career choices to how she interacts with fans across various platforms. It all promises to be bold, playful, a little chaotic – and impossible to ignore.”
Whelan added: “Becoming a lead architect of the Tillyverse is genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. AI is evolving at breathtaking speed, and combining cutting-edge tech with ambitious creative thinking means we’re not following an industry playbook at Xicoia – we are writing it. Tilly already has the momentum, an audience and the cultural spark. Now we’re writing her story and building her universe. It’s a huge responsibility — but an incredibly exciting one. I think the world is going to have a lot of fun watching what happens next.”
