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§ Private Profile · Vancouver, Canada
Ziva Dynamics is a technology company.
Ziva Dynamics develops advanced character creation and simulation software, enabling the realistic development of virtual humans for various digital environments. Their core technology focuses on physically accurate, anatomy-based simulation to bring lifelike articulation and deformation to digital characters. This platform provides artists and animators with tools to build and animate sophisticated virtual beings with biological fidelity, moving beyond traditional rigging and animation limitations.
Founded in 2015 by Jernej Barbic, Chris Godsall, and James Jacobs, Ziva Dynamics emerged from a shared vision to elevate the realism of digital characters. The founders leveraged their backgrounds in computer graphics and physics-based simulation, identifying a need for more anatomically precise and physically driven character creation tools. Their initial insight addressed the challenges of achieving believable soft-tissue dynamics and realistic movement in virtual representations.
The company's tools primarily serve professionals in the entertainment, gaming, and emerging metaverse sectors who require highly realistic and performant digital characters. Ziva Dynamics envisions a future where virtual humans achieve unparalleled fidelity and interactive capabilities, setting a new standard for believable digital performance across all virtual media. They aim to empower creators to realize increasingly complex and lifelike virtual worlds.
Ziva Dynamics has raised $7.0M across 1 funding round.
Ziva Dynamics has raised $7.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Ziva Dynamics has raised $7.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Ziva Dynamics's investors include Grishin Robotics, Millennium Technology Value Partners, Toyota Ventures, Bennu, Liquid 2 Ventures, Colin Carrier, Michael Ma.
Ziva Dynamics is a Vancouver-based software company specializing in advanced character creation and human simulation technology, enabling realistic physics-based animations for digital media including film, TV, games, VR, AR, and MR.[1][2][6] Its core products, like the Ziva Character Platform and Ziva VFX, simulate muscles, fat, skin, and anatomy using proprietary physics, machine learning, and AI to automate lifelike character generation, reducing manual labor and bridging high-fidelity VFX to real-time interactive experiences.[1][2][3] The company serves studios, game developers, and brands such as DNEG (for *The Rings of Power*), Unity, and major Hollywood productions, solving the challenge of creating dynamic, believable virtual humans and creatures that move naturally across media formats.[2][3][5] Ziva has shown strong growth through partnerships, awards like "Hollywood’s Most Outstanding Technology" in 2019, and expansion into real-time tools like Ziva RealTime and ZivaRT, culminating in its acquisition by Unity to scale hyper-realistic avatars for XR and metaverse applications.[2][5]
Ziva Dynamics was founded on April 11, 2015, by James Jacobs, an Academy Award-winning FX engineer, and Jernej Barbic, USC Associate Professor of Computer Science, in Vancouver, BC.[1][2] The idea stemmed from their expertise in real-world physics simulation and anatomy, drawing from Hollywood VFX principles to address inefficiencies in character creation for film and games.[1][2] Early traction came rapidly in media & entertainment, with Ziva VFX enabling dynamic soft tissue simulations that cut weeks from workflows on major titles; by 2019, it earned top honors from industry leaders like Warner Bros. and Universal, and in 2020, it targeted next-gen consoles with increased R&D funding.[2] Pivotal moments included integrations for real-time applications and the 2022 acquisition by Unity, which amplified its reach in RT3D and XR ecosystems.[5]
Ziva stands out in character simulation through physics-driven realism and AI automation:
These features attracted elite partners like DNEG and Unity, setting Ziva apart from generic 3D tools.[3][5]
Ziva rides the wave of AI-powered real-time rendering and immersive media, fueled by metaverse growth, next-gen consoles, and virtual production demands for photoreal characters.[2][5] Timing aligns with XR expansion (AR/VR/MR) and console optimizations, where its ML intersects with hardware advances for unprecedented realism without performance trade-offs.[2][3][5] Market forces like rising VFX budgets, game realism expectations, and Unity's ecosystem favor Ziva, democratizing pro-level tools for broader creators.[5] Post-acquisition, it influences the ecosystem by embedding hyper-realistic avatars into Unity's pipeline, accelerating metaverse content and challenging silos between film VFX and interactive gaming.[5]
Unity's integration positions Ziva to dominate real-time digital human tech, scaling ZivaRT for cloud-based creation and metaverse worlds amid surging XR adoption.[5] Trends like AI training data proliferation and edge computing will enhance its lightweight, accurate simulations, potentially expanding to robotics or enterprise training sims. Its influence may evolve from niche VFX enabler to ubiquitous avatar standard, powering interactive economies—echoing its roots in award-winning physics to redefine virtual presence across digital media.[3][5]
Ziva Dynamics has raised $7.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $7.0M Seed in May 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2020 | $7M Seed | Grishin Robotics, Millennium Technology Value Partners, Toyota Ventures | Bennu, Liquid 2 Ventures, Colin Carrier, Michael MA | Announced |