AI Animation Tech Startup Cheehoo, Backed By Netflix Head Of Film Dan Lin, Raises $10 Million

L.A.-based AI animation tech start-up Cheehoo has raised $10 million in a funding round led by Greycroft and Point72 Ventures, with additional participation from Basis Set, Headline Asia, Powerhouse Capital, Playground Productions, and Rideback.

A distinguishing factor that sets Cheehoo apart from other AI animation tech startups that we’ve covered, like Swoove Studios and Viggle AI, is the high-powered Hollywood players behind it. Cheehoo’s founders include producer and former president of DreamWorks Animation Chris deFaria (producer, Coyote vs. Acme; executive producer, Happy Feet Two, Gravity, Mad Max: Fury Road); Apple scientists and AI/machine learning experts Dr. Hubert Tsai and Dr. Wei-Cheng Kuo, and Rideback co-CEOs Michael LoFaso and Jonathan Eirich. Deep learning tech scientist Ruslan Salakhutdinov is a top advisor.

Cheehoo, in fact, was started as a project at Rideback, which co-produced Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch and also produced The Lego Movie franchise. Netflix’s head of film Dan Lin, who is the founder of Rideback, is a co-founder of Cheehoo.

The company’s toolset, which can be integrated with existing software like Maya and Unreal, allows for faster workflows and quicker iterations of scenes. Cheehoo has developed in-house AI models, but users may also integrate third-party models from platforms like OpenAI and Runway for post generation, motion stylization, and scene composition.

Per Deadline, key benefits of Cheehoo’s tech includes:

• Rapid creation and iteration of character animations that maintain their unique artistic style and consistent identity, with precise control.

• Streamlined compatibility with professional animation, gaming, and interactive entertainment pipelines.

• Uncompromising copyright protection for data and IP.

Speaking to Techcrunch, founder Michael LoFaso said, “What we found through Rideback is that in Hollywood, the process of creating animation was getting expensive and complex. It was starting to become tougher for creators to get their idea out in the world. We wanted to create a tool that was native to the workflows of creators and make their lives easier.”

Brentt Baltimore, a principal at vc firm Greycroft, added, “Cheehoo has an opportunity to reduce the cost of animation production overall. That means it can have sophisticated creators easily create animation films without having an expensive studio setup. Using … AI, the company is trying to put enterprise or big studio-level workflows into a tool enabling independent filmmakers to individuals to be creative with animation features. It [is] also doing all this while providing creative control to users, which creatives have always wanted.”

Cheehoo plans to announce partners that are using its tech as well as more details about the platform in the coming months.