Cheehoo: AI Entertainment Company Launches With Founders Rideback, Chris deFaria & More
EXCLUSIVE: Cheehoo, a technology and entertainment company focused on providing creators, artists and IP rightsholders with a new AI-enabled platform to reduce barriers to animated storytelling, has launched in beta.
Cheehoo’s founding team unites veteran leaders from Hollywood and Silicon Valley, including producer and former President of DreamWorks Animation Chris deFaria (Coyote vs. Acme, Mad Max: Fury Road, Happy Feet, Gravity), 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. The company 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. Chairman of Netflix Film and Rideback founder Dan Lin is also a Co-Founder of Cheehoo.
We hear that Cheehoo has raised funding in the double digit millions. The studio, named for a Pacific Island exclamation of excitement, has plans to transform global animation and interactive franchises by putting the power of AI in the hands of artists and rightsholders and by reconciling key industry pain points, including:
–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.
Cheehoo is currently 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.”
“Cheehoo is revolutionizing animation by seamlessly integrating AI with the nuanced workflows of creatives via deep human interaction tooling,” said Brentt Baltimore, Principal at Greycroft. “The multi-disciplinary team behind Cheehoo combines spatial computation experts with the creators of globally recognized content, and a unique approach to monetizing rich IP.”
“We believe Cheehoo can bring 3D technology to a new level,” said Ishan Sinha, Partner at Point72 Ventures. “We have been truly impressed by the founding team’s deep expertise and understanding of the challenges faced by studios and their vision to create a more efficient production process. We are excited to support their journey.”
“Cheehoo is pioneering the next generation of animation and IP franchises by seamlessly integrating generative AI into creative workflows,” said Chang Xu, Partner at Basis Set. “By dramatically accelerating iteration and production, they empower creators to bring their visions to life faster than ever before.”
“Video Gen AI fails to capture the colossal effort behind moviemaking—it’s not just about pretty pixels. Cheehoo understands the true grind, and Hollywood is already embracing them to revolutionize animation,” said Joseph Huang, Partner at Headline Asia.
Cheehoo will be announcing its creative collaborators and project slate in the near future.
