Nimble Collective Raises $8.5 Million To Develop Its Animation Cloud Service

“Millions of talented animators simply do not have access to the expensive studio-quality technology tools and big budgets currently required to bring high-quality creative projects to fruition,” said Michael Howse, the tech industry exec who co-founded Nimble with DreamWorks vets Rex Grignon, Scott LaFleur, and Jason Schleifer. “Nimble will change that by democratizing the market with the world’s first collaborative, cloud-based platform for generating content that animators can distribute and profit from in exciting new ways.”

Although the platform will require licenses for the existing animation software that artists already use, it shifts production and rendering capabilities to a secure cloud environment, allowing animators to have a complete workspace from anywhere in the world. A key component of the platform will be its community of users, which Nimble envisions as a marketplace for talent, allowing filmmakers to easily discover and hire creative collaborators to help them complete their projects.

“Nimble is delivering studio caliber tools and collaboration capabilities–all in the cloud–that free-up animators to do what they do best — create,” said Nimble CCO Rex Grignon, who was the head of character animation on DreamWorks’ Madagascar franchise. “Our goal is to enable a new generation of creatives to create, collaborate and prosper by building their own unique, modern content to reach huge audiences.”

The Mountain View, California-based Nimble currently has 18 employees and is working with artists on numerous pilot projects to help develop, test, and refine its cloud platform. Pricing details for Nimble haven’t been announced yet, but the company plans to offer multiple tiers, including a lower-priced one for artists using open-source software, to give as many people as possible access to the platform.