TMCnet News
Jabali Raises $5M to Build a Generative AI-Powered Game Engine of the FutureLed by game industry veterans from Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, and leading AI researchers, the company is committed to revolutionizing game development SAN FRANCISCO and RALEIGH, N.C., March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Jabali, an AI company advancing game engines and empowering visionary game designers and developers, announced that it has raised a $5 million seed round led by BITKRAFT Ventures with participation from Sapphire Sport, Sony Innovation Fund, Canonical Ventures, and angels from Amazon, Google AI, Open AI, and Pinterest. The investment will be used to expand the Jabali team, refine proprietary models, and accelerate the product launch. Jabali's founding team is composed of gaming executives from Amazon, Meta, Zynga and Microsoft along with leading AI researchers with extensive publications in prominent journals such as AAAI and IEEE. Combined the team has over 50 years of gaming experience and the games technology and games built by this team has been used by thousands of game developers and played by a billion players. Jabali is committed to transforming the processes and tools used to create games – removing major roadblocks like excessive coding or complicated workflows – into something that anyone with a creative vision can use. The company's generative AI-powered game engine will let users create new types of games and interactive experiences without needing extensive game development knowledge. Jabali is creating a purpose-built, closed-loop feedback workflow and technology for video games and interactive experiences, utilizing the advances in multimodal generative AI. "At Jabali, we believe that AI is the next chapter of innovation in video games. We need a revolutionary engine, built from the ground up incorporating advancements in generative AI. Our engine revisits what a game engine can do, enabling more people to make games and new experiences," shared Jabali Founder and CEO, Vatsal Bhardwaj. Vatsal also added that Jabali is interested in partnering with visionary game makers who want to revolutionize the way games are created and exploring new game mechanics using AI. "Today's engines were built 25 years ago and we see an opportunity with Jabali to democratize game creation and drive innovation in today's growing $200B+ gaming industry," added Scott Rupp, Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures. "With Vatsal's experience in building games and games technology at Meta, Amazon and Zynga and Dr. Arnav Jhala's extensive expertise in AI and video games research at NC State University and UC Santa Cruz, Jabali is poised to undamentally change how developers make games and how gamers play them." "Game engines are a critical driver to the expansion of creative capability and reach. Jabali is addressing fundamental shifts in game development requiring multi-modal generative AI technology to be built from the core of the game engine. This approach will not only supercharge game studios but also enhance game development and foster a new generation of game creators," said Joseph Tou, Managing Director – U.S., Sony Ventures. "AI is disruptive across almost all sectors and Jabali's commitment, experience, and purpose-built application positions it as a leader in shaping the future of game creation." The company is hiring. For more information regarding Jabali and the company's open roles, please visit the Careers page. About Jabali About BITKRAFT Ventures BITKRAFT Ventures is a leading global investment platform for gaming and Web3 according to research from InvestGame and Drake Star Partners. Founded by industry pioneer Jens Hilgers, BITKRAFT serves a worldwide network that spans many of the industry's forward-thinking startups and founders—including former executives from the likes of Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, Epic Games, Google, and Apple who are working to build and operate the virtual worlds and economies of the future. BITKRAFT operates four venture funds with a total of over $830M in assets under management and has over 100 companies in its global portfolio as of August 2022. About Sapphire About Sony Ventures Corporation
SOURCE Jabali 
|
View original content: