Beverly Hills-based software development company Arcturus has announced an $11 million series A funding round led by Cloudtree Ventures that included investments from Autodesk and Epic Games.
“We see the translation of true human performance as a fundamental building block of spatial experiences, including (extended reality) and the metaverse. Our goal is to give everyone from multinational brands to independent creators the tools they need to create authentic digital human representations in the metaverse of their choice,” Kamal Mistry, chief executive of Arcturus, said in a statement.
Arcturus will continue to develop its volumetric video editing tools, including the HoloSuite platform, for creators to continue with the ability to edit live-action 3D performances and stream those files to any screen. Arcturus will also expand research into artificial intelligence tools to help improve the capture of 3D data with fewer cameras and introduce new lighting and surfacing options that will enhance video quality. Arcturus also wants to develop new ways to enhance concerts and sports on digital platforms.
“Volumetric video tools such as Arcturus’ HoloSuite give artists a quick way to create photorealistic 3D content for countless industries,” Diana Colella, senior vice president at Autodesk’s Media and Entertainment vertical solutions group, said in a release. “We are thrilled to help Arcturus expand the potential of its existing tools. By accelerating innovation, we can help users quickly maximize the potential of using animated 3D video in their work and deliver the compelling content that the media and entertainment industry demands.”
When paired with Arcturus’ 3D editing tools, volumetric video can be used to place humans in any virtual world within Epic Games’ “Unreal Engine,” Autodesk and Unity, a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies. This introduces the potential to populate virtual and augmented environments for architects working on new designs, such as game developers building new worlds.
“Arcturus’ tools make it easier for creators to compress, edit and stream volumetric video,” said Alasdair Coull, chief technology officer of special projects for Epic Games. “We’ve seen firsthand how Arcturus’ tools are opening the door to broader utilization of volumetric video and we are proud to partner with Arcturus to continue to accelerate the evolution of the technology.”
