Hollywood’s Virtual Reality Guru Looks East
Textor’s company, Pulse Evolution, which he founded in 2013, specializes in the creation of digital humans. These digital humans, artistic renderings of the living or the dead, can be projected onto a stage, used in digital displays or cast into the virtual worlds.
Earlier this month, Pulse Evolution signed a strategic agreement with Simon Fuller’s entertainment company to produce virtual reality experiences featuring Pulse’s digital human technology. Fuller, the creator of the American Idol reality TV program, will become the largest-shareholder of Pulse as a result of this deal.
Textor, a former pro-skateboarder, theater geek and computer coder, is now setting his sights on Asia as he seeks partnerships and capital to give Pulse Evolution a boost.
Textor said Pulse has raised slightly under $40 million to date, and is looking at a capital infusion of $200-$300 million over the long term to bring his business global.
Back in February, Pulse Evolution received $10 million in funding from two Tencent Holdings -backed companies, Shanghai U9 Game and Original Force. With more than half of his current investment from Europe, Textor is hoping to attract more partners from Asia given the market’s huge appetite for games and devices that could spur rapid VR adoption in the region.
See the full story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/melanieleest/2016/03/31/hollywoods-virtual-reality-guru-looks-east/#7537969e3571