Third Dimension AI has successfully raised $7 million in funding to enhance the development of 3D game worlds using generative AI technology. This investment aims to expand the team and refine AI models that transform 2D images and videos into immersive 3D environments, positioning the company as a leader in 3D generation.
Key Takeaways
Funding Amount: $7 million raised to develop generative AI for game worlds.
Funding Sources: Led by Felicis, with participation from Abstract Ventures, MVP, Soma Capital, and the Salt Fund.
Founders' Background: Team includes experts from autonomous vehicles and gaming industries.
Target Customers: Ranges from military applications to video game developers.
The Vision Behind Third Dimension AI
Tolga Kart, CEO of Third Dimension, envisions a future where game developers can create expansive 3D environments in a fraction of the time it currently takes. The goal is to simplify the creation of both real and imaginary worlds, making it as easy as pressing a button.
The company aims to address the high costs and lengthy timelines associated with traditional game development. By leveraging generative AI, they plan to reduce the time required to create playable worlds from months to mere days or hours.
How It Works
Third Dimension AI is developing a comprehensive tool that accelerates the workflow for game developers and artists. Here’s how the process is envisioned:
Concept Creation: Artists create a 2D or 3D concept of a world.
AI Integration: This concept is fed into the AI engine.
World Generation: The AI generates a fully playable 3D world based on the input within a day or two.
This innovative approach not only streamlines the creative process but also significantly reduces production costs, making high-quality game development more accessible.
Applications Beyond Gaming
While the primary focus is on video games, the technology has broader applications. It can be utilized in:
Autonomous Vehicle Training: Creating realistic environments for testing.
Film Production: Generating virtual backgrounds.
Military Simulations: Developing accurate training environments.
The Founders' Expertise
The founding team brings a wealth of experience from various fields:
Tolga Kart: Former VP of Engineering at Parallel Domain and senior director at Activision, with extensive experience in game development.
Piotr Sokolski: Worked on photorealistic neural simulators for self-driving cars at Wayve and has a background at Google.
Özgun Pelvan: A machine learning engineer with multiple publications in neural networks.
Future Prospects
Third Dimension AI is still in the research phase, focusing on refining its technology to convert videos into 3D meshes. The company aims to create a large-scale 3D world reconstruction pipeline that will redefine how 3D environments are created.
As the gaming industry continues to evolve, Third Dimension AI's groundbreaking technology promises to transform the landscape of game development, making it more efficient and cost-effective. With the backing of experienced investors and a talented team, the company is poised to lead the charge in the next generation of 3D content creation.
Sources
Third Dimension AI raises $7M to build game worlds with generative AI | VentureBeat, VentureBeat.