CryWorks, a virtual reality content startup backed by vets of Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic, and Disney, said it has scored around of seed funding led by Michael Bay’s 451 Media Group, 500 Mobile Collective, and WI Harper Group.
CryWorks, based in Los Angeles and San Francisco and founded in 2015, didn’t announce the amount of the seed round, but noted that it has already worked on VR projects for Samsung, The Wall Street Journal, and eSports-focused ESL One.
The VR-focused startup is led by founder and CEO Euan Macdonald, who is late of Lucasfilm/ILM, Pixar, Disney and Electronic Arts, with credits that include Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Harry Potter films.
Co-founder Hans Uhlig is CryWorks’s CTO, and is formerly with Lucasfilm/ILM, EA and Polygon. He will oversee the company’s tech development and proprietary capture and production systems and its VR applications.
Kymber Lim, another co-founder, is the company’s chief content officer, and is late of visual effects houses companies such as Psyop, Digital Domain and Method Studios. She will help with business development, Hollywood/Asia relations and VR production, the company said.
“Although there are a few high-quality VR content pieces to date, most of them have little incentive for the viewer to keep tuning back in,” Macdonald said, in a statement. “We see an opportunity to build the first VR broadcast network, partnering with other production companies and creating addictive, episodic experiences.”
