Oversubscribed investment follows a successful launch showcasing "Gary the Gull" interactive VR short film at GDC; Jay Rifkin and Masi Oka join the Limitless Board of Advisors
SEATTLE, June 10, 2016 — (PRNewswire) — Limitless LTD, a new VR startup created by Pixar and Bungie alum Tom Sanocki, today announced it has closed an oversubscribed first round of seed funding from multiple investors. Limitless launched last month with a new VR platform that enables content developers to create interactive VR characters that respond to voice, gestures, gaze and more. The technology is being targeted to film and game developers initially, as well as other vertical markets including education, advertising, and travel.Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160610/377853LOGO
At the Game Developers Conference 2016 the company showcased their first customer's project "Gary the Gull," an interactive VR short film produced by Motional and directed by Mark Walsh, Motional's founder and creative director with 18 years as an animator and writer-director at Pixar. Limitless has new projects underway with leading animation, game, and film studios in the US and abroad. The new funding will be used to build the next stage of the Limitless platform and to deploy its current interactive VR character technology.
"We believe fundraising is about finding good partners, and we are very excited at the great people we have in our seed round," said Tom Sanocki, founder and CEO of Limitless. "We are working with the leading VR funds, a combination of US and international tech VCs, game-focused investors, and experienced angels. The incredible response to our first customer's project, 'Gary the Gull,' at this year's GDC conference increased interest in our platform and helped us attract new investors and customers. Consumer VR is just beginning and we are excited to power the next wave of compelling VR content into people's homes and imaginations."
The seed round includes GAEA, The Venture Reality Fund, Colopl VR Fund, Social Starts, CRCM Venture Capital, Sparkland Capital, Mission and Market, Nick Rau (SVP Engineering at Nielsen, CTO of acquired startup Vizu), Jay Rifkin (CEO OceanView Media), and Masi Oka (CEO Mobius Digital, Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor, former digital effects artist at ILM).
Jay Rifkin and Masi Oka will also join Limitless' Board of Advisors. Jay Rifkin has spent 25 years building successful entertainment and technology companies, including Mojo Records (UMG) and Media Ventures, and won multiple industry awards including Grammy awards for "The Lion King." He is a film producer and tech financier in Hollywood and an active member of the Producers Guild of America. Masi Oka is an Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor and CEO of the game studio Mobius Digital. He developed technology used in over 30 feature films while at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and graduated from Brown University where he majored in Math and Computer Science with a minor in Theatre Arts.
Marco DeMiroz, general partner, The Venture Reality Fund, said: "We have been big advocates for both Tom and Limitless, and we're proud to invest in his vision to build a platform for the creation and publishing of immersive characters in VR. Emotional engagement with characters is crucial for an immersive experience and storytelling of all kinds. The extensive creative background of Tom and his team at both Pixar and Bungie gives them a unique perspective on what game designers and storytellers need to create intelligent and immersive characters in this new medium. We're excited for what they will do next!"
Sanocki added, "As film and game studios plan out their next VR projects, we're excited for them to use the Limitless VR Creative Environment to develop exceptional Pixar-quality VR characters that create emotional connections through how they respond to the viewer."
About Limitless Ltd
Founded in Spring 2015 and headquartered in Seattle, WA, Limitless Ltd is the creator of the patent-pending Limitless Creative VR Environment platform, speeding the way for film and game makers to realize the true promise of real-life interactive characters in VR. Information about the Limitless Creative VR Environment can be found at http://www.vrlimitlessltd.com.
** Editors notes**
- Gary the Gull will be presented on stage at Siggraph Real Time Live on Tue, 26 July from 5:30-7:15 pm. For more information visit http://s2016.siggraph.org/content/real-time-live.
- Art assets may be downloaded from the Limitless Press Kit here: http://bit.ly/28i275m
PR Contacts for Limitless:
Karen Blondell
424-263-7371
Email
Susan Lusty
415-269-0226
Email
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Limitless LTD
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