London startup founded by former Snapchat employee secures $4m for AI in gaming
Iconic AI raises $4m to redefine gaming industry.
London-based games startup Iconic AI has secured $4m (£3m) in a pre-seed funding round. Founded in 2023 by former Snapchat employee John Lusty, the company aims to revolutionise high-budget game development using AI.
Lusty believes AI can expedite the development process, which has become increasingly costly and time-consuming.
Despite the global gaming industry generating significant revenue, many studios have been downsizing. Earlier this year, Microsoft and Bethesda announced the closure of several game development studios. Lusty is confident that Iconic AI can enhance human creativity rather than replace it, making game development more efficient and secure for developers.
The funding round was led by HodlCo, with participation from FOV Ventures, Interface Capital, Deepwater Asset Management, and scout funds from Sequoia and Atomico. Angel investors included former senior executives from DeepMind, OpenAI, Disney, Tencent, and Microsoft. Lusty believes their AI-driven approach will create more jobs and enable smaller teams to produce numerous games efficiently.
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