Innovative AI startup NPCx has raised $3 million in the company’s seed investment round led by Kakao Investment Co Ltd. Committed to transforming the gaming and entertainment industry, including film, XR and the metaverse by using AI to create lifelike NPCs, the company will use its new funding to strengthen its position in the gaming and entertainment industry.
NPCx launched its flagship product TrackerX in March; the motion capture processing tool simplifies the process of handling 3D motion data. Before securing the new funds from Kakao Investment, NPCx raised more than $540,000 on the crowdfunding platform Republic.
Cameron Madani, CEO of NPCx says, “TrackerX disrupts this costly manual process that’s been around for nearly 30 years by cleaning raw motion capture with AI and proprietary biomechanical models, saving companies thousands of labour hours and significant financial resources per project.”
Creating life-like NPCs
The company will also use its newly secured funding to accelerate the development of its future-focused product BehaviorX. This technology can enhance gaming experiences by capturing and employing real-time data from players to create lifelike behavioural clones in NPCs.
In addition, NPCx is also aiming to launch two new products called RetargetX and AIMX. These products will utilise neural networks to retarget motion capture animation as well as predict the next animation frame.
“We are honoured to have Kakao Investment lead our seed round. As a prominent startup investor in Asia, securing Kakao Investment’s investment during these challenging times in the capital markets is a tremendous vote of confidence in our team, technology, and product roadmap,” said Madani.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
