DNEG acquires exclusive license to Ziva Technologies from Unity

We’re excited to announce that DNEG has acquired the exclusive license to Ziva from Unity!

Ziva is a best-in-class toolset for the creation of digital characters and creatures, which has become an industry-standard software for visual effects, animation, and gaming companies. As part of the deal, DNEG will also be onboarding a significant proportion of the Ziva team.

Boasting sophisticated simulation features and real-time character creation, assisted by machine learning, Ziva enables artists to craft ever-more accurate and scalable digital characters with greater efficiency and control.

Our VFX and Animation teams have used Ziva on a number of past projects, helping us deliver compelling performances by digital characters in shows such as Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Fast X, Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Meg 2: The Trench, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and for our upcoming co-productions Animal Friends and The Garfield Movie!

This investment in the Ziva toolset and its future development will further enhance our creature pipeline, supporting our artists in the creation of captivating digital characters and creatures across projects.

The technology will also support our new DNEG IXP division, powering the creation of real-time interactive digital humans and creatures for upcoming projects in the worlds of gaming, virtual concerts, and theme park ride experiences, and for next-generation headsets such as the Apple Vision Pro.

Our Global CEO Namit Malhotra said:

“This transaction furthers DNEG’s strategy of continual investment in technology to reinforce our leadership position. The integration of the Ziva toolset into our technology stack helps our artists to deliver incredible cinematic performances and experiences for discerning movie-lovers worldwide, and also supports our strategic move into immersive experiences with the launch of DNEG IXP, enabling the creation of feature film-quality digital characters and creatures in gaming and immersive environments. I am thrilled about the possibilities that this transaction opens up, both for ourselves and for our partners.”

Paul Salvini, Global CTO, added:

“Bringing the Ziva toolset in-house – along with a significant proportion of the team behind it – is a perfect fit for DNEG and gives us a strong competitive advantage in the development of sophisticated and wholly convincing digital characters and creatures. This is an important area of growth for DNEG and will further enhance our digital character and creature work, not just for film and episodic work, but for real-time and immersive applications too. I look forward to working with the team to support the further development of the product, and to helping take the Ziva toolset in exciting new directions.”

Read more about this exciting news here.