Cheehoo, A New Entertainment/Tech Outfit Focusing on AI-Enabled Animation, Launches in Beta

A new technology and entertainment new company focusing on a AI-enabled animation name Cheehoo has launched in beta. The studio’s organizing team includes producer and former DreamWorks animation president Chris deFaria (Coyote vs. Acme, Mad Max: Fury Road, Happy Feet), former Apple scientists and AI/machine learning experts Dr. Hubert Tsai and Dr. Wei-Cheng Kuo, and Rideback Co-CEOs Michael LoFaso and Jonathan Eirich. Chairman of Netflix Film and Rideback founder Dan Lin is also a co-founder of Cheehoo.

According to Deadline.com, Cheehoo has also hired creative and technology talent across the AI/ML research, data security, animation, and gaming fields. Pioneering AI scientist Ruslan Salakhutdinov is a top advisor. The company has already raised funding in the double digit millions.

Named for the famous Pacific Island excitement exclamation, Cheehoo says it plans to “put the power of AI in the hands of artists and rights-holders and by reconciling key industry pain points” by offering the following:

• 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.
• Partnering with streamers, studios, brands and IP rightsholders to allow them to build their own custom AI models. This will allow them to turn existing assets into new, spinoff or sequential projects, including series, features, games and other digital content.

“The best breakthroughs occur when artists are at the heart of innovation,” said Michael LoFaso. “Our goal is to empower artists and storytellers with new tools and technologies that make it easier for them to build the next wave of animated franchises. The early adoption of our World Models is helping animators create more with their characters while maintaining full control of their artistic imprint and vision.”

LoFaso told TechCrunch, “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.”

Sources: Deadline.com, TechCrunch