Sure the latest initiatives from the Teslas, Apples and Googles of the industry tend to dominate the tech news space — and with good reason. Still, the tech titans aren’t the only ones bringing innovation to the sector.
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The recent popularity of short-form videos has created an interest among businesses in 3D animation. Brands and marketing teams see animation as a means to increase brand awareness and grow their business. Creating animations traditionally involved complicated, enterprise-level software, but Austin-based Aquifer is simplifying the process of creating 3D animations.
Founded in 2018 by CEO Chen Zhang and CTO Matt Udvari, Aquifer is piloting the concept that “cinematic is now automatic.” Brands are looking to produce original animated content that meets or exceeds their brand image but in a more timely manner that doesn’t involve animation studios and long production times, Zhang said.
“The one thing we’re focused on is extreme simplicity on the creation side and as much automation as possible while maintaining a cinematic level of quality,” Zhang told Built In. “We work with top brands and we know that fans of top brands expect those characters to look a certain way and to maintain that brand fidelity that they know and love.”
The idea for Aquifer was born while Zhang and Udvari worked at augmented and virtual reality studio Part Time Evil. There, they created interactive experiences for the likes of Adidas and large pharmaceutical companies. While working at Part Time Evil, Zhang said Udvari created the first version of Aquifer as a tool to speed up the animation process. After realizing the various efficacies the software created, the duo decided to launch the tool as its own company. Since launching, Aquifer has raised $3.3 million in funding, according to Crunchbase.
With Aquifer, all you’re inputting is audio or text, and it generates a very good first version of the scene.”
To automate the animation process, brands simply input an audio recording or text into Aquifer’s platform. The software then generates the scene and animates the characters and their facial expressions. From there, the brand can make changes to the scene using a drag-and-drop interface and export it into a video when they are happy with the results.
“If you think about animation, it’s breaking down the script in the story to discrete movements that you then have to control frame by frame, and that’s why it takes so long to get to a minute of a scene,” Zhang said. “With Aquifer, all you’re inputting is audio or text, and it generates a very good first version of the scene.”
Last year, Aquifer launched a new platform called Shoutouts in partnership with the brand L.O.L. Surprise!. The partnership enables customers to request personalized videos from their favorite toys and characters. Shoutouts is still in beta. Zhang said Shoutouts is another example of how brands with various forms of intellectual property can leverage animation to connect with customers and grow their brand.
In addition to the new platform, 2022 was a stellar year for Aquifer as it launched several new features for its animation platform and forged partnerships with various brands. Going forward, Aquifer plans to continue partnering with brands and helping them create animations and content.
“Our main focus is to expand on the companies we’re working with today and grow into other large media and entertainment brands,” Zhang said.
