# Cheehoo Raises $10 Million to Revolutionize Animation with AI

## Cheehoo Raises $10 Million to Revolutionize Animation with AI

Animation, a traditionally laborious and costly process, is poised for a significant transformation. Cheehoo, a new AI-powered animation startup, has secured $10 million in funding led by Greycroft, signaling a strong belief in its vision to streamline and democratize animation production.

The company, a spin-off from Rideback, the production house behind the “Lego Movie” franchise, aims to alleviate the pain points of animation creation. The traditional animation pipeline is complex, involving storyboarding, rendering, composition, and lighting, each demanding considerable time and resources. Experimentation with alternative scene takes often necessitates extensive rework, further adding to the expense and complexity.

Cheehoo’s founding team boasts a unique blend of Hollywood veterans and AI experts. Alongside Rideback co-CEOs Michael LoFaso and Jonathan Eirich, and co-founder Dan Lin, the team includes former DreamWorks Animation President Chris deFaria and ex-Apple AI researchers Hubert Tsai and Wei-Cheng Kuo. This diverse background positions Cheehoo to understand and address the specific challenges faced by animators.

According to LoFaso, the goal is to “create a tool that was native to the workflows of creators and make their lives easier.” Cheehoo’s AI-powered tools are designed to accelerate prototyping and iteration, handling tasks like data annotation, file conversions, and format consistency. This allows animators to focus on the creative aspects of their work, moving seamlessly between different stages of production.

A key feature of Cheehoo is its integration with existing industry-standard platforms like Maya and Unreal. Users can see the results of their edits instantly, with AI features toggled on or off for granular control. The platform leverages in-house AI models for character and asset creation, while also allowing integration of third-party models from companies like OpenAI and Runway for tasks such as post generation, motion stylization, and scene composition.

While Cheehoo has yet to announce specific launch partners, the company claims to be already working with various IP holders, studios, and creators. Brentt Baltimore, principal at Greycroft, emphasizes the firm’s commitment to “new age” media investments. He believes Cheehoo’s team possesses the right DNA to revolutionize animation pipelines, lowering production costs and empowering independent filmmakers.

Baltimore highlighted the potential of Cheehoo to bring “big studio-level workflows into a tool enabling independent filmmakers to individuals to be creative with animation features,” while retaining creative control for users.

Looking ahead, Cheehoo plans to expand its focus beyond enterprise and prosumer markets, developing consumer-focused products to compete with startups like Accel-backed Cartwheel and Naver-backed Cinamon, all striving to simplify animation creation through AI. The funding round also saw participation from Point72 Ventures, Basis Set, Headline Asia, Powerhouse Capital, Playground Productions, and Rideback, underscoring the broad interest in AI’s potential to transform the animation landscape.