Ziva Dynamics raises $ 7M Seed Fund and expands character simulation software to games

May 14, 2020

Vancouver-based character simulation software developer Ziva Dynamics earned $ 7 million in seed funding.

Here are the details:

Ziva will use the funds to double her workforce, advance the development of her character engine in real time, and "radically expand" her sales and marketing operations. The seminar was chaired by Grishin Robotics, Toyota AI Ventures and Millennium Technology Value Partners New Horizons Fund.
The company's software creates a nuanced simulation of movements based on physically plausible rules for how muscle, fat, soft tissue and skin work together. It has been widely used in film and television productions, including Game of Thrones, The Meg, Captain Marvel, e Relief of the Pacific basin.

Announcing its funding, Ziva said it is expanding its services for AAA video game developers who demand real-time performance. He adds, "Ziva's open architecture and real-time platforms, which will be publicly released later this year, will allow real-time characters to compete with their offline film counterparts."
Ziva was founded in 2015 by vfx artist James Jacobs and Jernej Barbic, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Southern California. In 2013 Jacobs was one of the winners of an Academy Scientific and Technical Award for a pioneering character simulation framework used in Gollum in The Hobbit.
In a statement, Jacobs and Barbic said, "The video game industry will reach over $ 300 billion by 2025 and console games, the fastest growing category of games, earned over $ 47,9 billion in 2019 alone. .. Our biomechanics, soft tissue and machine learning technologies finally intersect with the optimization of gaming consoles, allowing us to introduce the highest quality characters in a space that constantly pushes for the best and the fastest results. "
Dmitry Grishin, founding partner of Grishin Robotics, added: “James and Jernej are making a big impact in the motion picture industry with their cutting-edge technology for 3D characters. We strongly believe in the convergence of film, animation and online game content and are excited to partner with Ziva in building standard character creation software for the rapidly growing digital entertainment universe. "