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Bandai Namco Entertainment has made two new investments in gaming technology startups from a new investment fund.
The Tokyo-based company said so Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Funda fund to invest in
entertainment startups and builds its intellectual property that metaverse has invested in DeepMotion based in the United States and Super Gaming based in India.
Under the Bandai Namco Group’s goal of “fun for all in the future” and its vision to “connect with fans”, the company connects with fans to leverage IPs and establish deep, broad, multifaceted relationships with partners, employees , societies and IP fans around the world.
Karim Farghaly, senior vice president of business development at Bandai Namco Entertainment America, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the fund actually launched on April 1, 2022, with the goal of investing in early to mid-stage startups in industries related to with gaming and toys.
The idea was to go beyond games and invest in startups or service providers that create the technologies that Bandai Namco can use in games.
“The bottom line is that Bandai Namco Entertainment was able to invest in games and studios that make games until this fund was established,” said Farghaly. “Once the fund is established, we will be able to broaden the types of partnerships we can form with a variety of companies on a global level.”
“For our vision, we want to engage with all partners to help us build the future of entertainment,” said Yoyo Yang, an investment leader for the fund, in an interview with GamesBeat. “We think entertainment itself has changed quite a bit lately, and we really want to catch that trend and we want to work with the outside innovators to do that.”
Two startup deals
DeepMotion develops AI-based automatic motion recognition technology, but is also a software-as-a-service company developing its own motion generation service. Through this investment, Bandai Namco hopes to integrate DeepMotion’s technology and expertise in motion generation and create new forms of entertainment using motion data.
Since its founding in 2014, DeepMotion has been on a mission to bring digital characters to life using AI and machine learning techniques. Founder Kevin He and his team leveraged their decades of experience building game engines for top gaming companies such as Blizzard, Roblox, Ubisoft and Disney to revolutionize 2D video motion capture, making it becomes easy to detect and synthesize human motion using physics simulation and generative AI for lifelike motion of digital humans, enabling creators of any experience level to bring their virtual characters to life.
Their AI motion capture technology is available directly in the web browser, eliminating hardware requirements, and can be integrated directly into other experiences as an API. It’s yet another way for fans to express themselves.
“They’re doing motion sensing and pioneering this kind of technology,” Yang said. “They can help us generate UGC content from our fans and help them connect to our IPs in a better way.”
SuperGaming in India develops and publishes gaming applications for smartphones and develops and
offers its own engine platform for game development. With this investment, Bandai Namco aims to deepen its understanding of the Asian market, which is expected to continue to grow in the future.
and grow our business by leveraging our IP expertise.
Farghaly said that much of Bandai Namco’s total investment is based on categories of IPs. The company tries to target fans with new content in the specific IPs that are popular.
Bandai Namco will continue to invest in outstanding companies around the world to support its gaming business and introduce new forms of entertainment.
DeepMotion creates 3D animation tools using motion capture and AI technology. The company is led by CEO and founder Kevin He. Super Gaming is headquartered in Singapore and operates in India, where it does the mobile game production and game engine work. John RobyCEO. The company did live operations for the mobile game Pac-Man.
“They’re doing some very exciting things in a new market,” Farghaly said.
Bandai Namco said the fund will invest in startups in Japan and abroad that provide entertainment-related products and services using blockchain, VR/AR/xR and AI, as well as companies engaged in metaverse and Web3 activities.
Currently, Bandai Namco is the sole investor in the fund as it aims to be a strategic investor. The company is considering investing in generative AI as that part of the tech world evolves so quickly. It also looks at blockchain, user-generated content and more. And it’s discussing whether it can invest in other game-related investment funds, Ikeda said.
In addition to the US, the fund is also looking at emerging gaming regions such as India, Africa, Brazil and the rest of Latin America.
Part of the future plan is to create metaverse experiences based on IPs. Bandai Namco was considering making large investments in its “IP metaverse” games and experiences, and the fund would pave the way to building an entire hub for metaverse experiences. But the company has also expanded its vision beyond the metaverse, said Kazuki Ikeda, one of the fund’s investment leaders.
“Our scope isn’t really just focused on the metaverse,” Ikeda said, speaking through a translator. “We’re looking at other types of entertainment and not just limiting ourselves to the metaverse.”
The fund focuses on a wide range of stages from pre-seed to later stages. It invests about $22 million over three years. Average investments range from $75,000 to $3.75 million.
Previously, the Bandai Namco fund invested in a Japanese company and also in Genies, the maker of digital avatars for celebrities. Now the fund is looking for companies in the US and Europe, with a more global approach, Farghaly said.
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