Member Spotlight: Retinize secures £1.6m to disrupt the animation space

Eirmersive member RETìníZE is one of Europe's fastest-growing creative-tech companies. Co-founded in 2019 by Phil & Jack Morrow the company has developed Animotive, “an innovative, easy-to-use VR SaaS product that is democratising the 3D animation production pipeline by removing technical barriers and over 80% of the cost.”

In February RETìníZE secured £1.6m in funding to accelerate the growth of Animotive. The investment came from QUBIS, the commercial arm of Queen’s University Belfast, and Innovation Ulster from Ulster University. The round also included investments from Sure Valley Ventures, Techstart Ventures and Co-Fund NI, with additional backing from angel investors. This was then supplemented with an additional £300,000 in grant funding.

Image courtesy of Retinize

That investment followed an earlier £2 million seed round in 2022, led by Irish-founded VC, Sure Valley Ventures. Other backers included Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, the multi-Emmy award-winning producers behind the CBS hit show The Amazing Race.

The team at Animotive is often asked, “What are the benefits of VR for mocap?” As they explain it -

“The biggest advantage is what we call Spatial Truth. You see the world directly from your character’s perspective. No matter the performer’s height, everything automatically scales to match their character, making eyelines spot on.

With our automatic retargeting system, all you need to do is import your character and we handle the rest. It’s fast, intuitive, and perfect for teaching motion capture to large groups, letting anyone jump in and start performing in minutes.”