Cheehoo, a startup specializing in AI-powered animation tools, has raised US$10 million in funding.

The investment was led by Greycroft, with support from Point72 Ventures, Basis Set, Headline Asia, Powerhouse Capital, Playground Productions, and Rideback.

The US-based company was founded by professionals with backgrounds in Hollywood and technology.

This includes Rideback co-CEOs Michael LoFaso and Jonathan Eirich, Rideback co-founder Dan Lin, former DreamWorks Animation president Chris deFaria, and ex-Apple AI researchers Yao-Hung Hubert Tsai and Wei-Cheng Kuo.

Cheehoo wants to create an AI-powered tool to make it easier for creatives to produce animated content.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Animation’s recurring technological revolutions both democratize and disrupt

Cheehoo represents the latest in a century-long pattern of technological disruptions that have transformed animation production economics.

Animation history shows that major innovations, from cel animation patents in 1914 to synchronized sound in 1928 to computer animation in the 1990s, all promised greater efficiency while changing who could create animated content 1.

Each revolution reduced certain barriers. Disney’s “Snow White” (1937) demonstrated feature-length animation was commercially viable, while Pixar’s “Toy Story” (1995) established computer animation as the new industry standard 2.

Today’s AI animation tools follow this historical pattern, with projections showing the AI animation market growing to $17.7 billion by 2032 3.

However, these transitions have consistently disrupted existing jobs and workflows. Recent studies predict generative AI will impact 118,500 positions in film, television, and animation over the next three years, with 3D modeling and character design roles facing the greatest disruption 4.

2️⃣ Animation’s persistent challenge: balancing production costs with creative control

Cheehoo’s focus on creator-controlled AI directly addresses animation’s central historical tension between artistic expression and production efficiency.

Early animation was characterized by experimental creativity. Émile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie” (1908) and the Fleischer brothers’ “Out of the Inkwell” series showcased artistic spontaneity before industrialized production methods became dominant 5.