Gaming

Layer AI raises $1.8m to supercharge game art production!

Published

6 months ago

November 22, 2023

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Layer, the AI-powered productivity tool of choice by the world’s top gaming companies, raises a $1.8M seed round by top ad-tech and gaming angels, and VC funds.

The creator-first, enterprise-ready tool for professional art creation, Layer AI, today announced the successful closing of their first seed round. Round included top serial entrepreneurs and industry legends like Jim Payne, gaming angels like Akin Babayigit, Michele Attisani, and Dilpesh Parmar and gaming VCs like The Games Fund, The Games Syndicate, GFR Fund, Laton Ventures along with other AI/Tech VCs and angels like 500 Global, Elena Silenok, Taimur Rashid. Additionally, the team also got a strategic investment from the US-based top art production and talent house Devoted Studios.

Getting to know the team

Layer, based in San Francisco, is founded by a team of passionate professionals with decades of experience in AI, Gaming, and Computer Vision. Volkan Gurel is the CEO, with a background in engineering and management from MIT, Hunch and Coinbase. Burcu is the CRO and served in multiple client-facing roles across multiple products from ads to game services at Unity & LoopMe. Kuo-chin, PhD is the CTO who recently joined bringing 20 years of experience in Computer Vision from Appen and XMotors. Finally, Mehmet is a self-taught technical artist and game developer who co-founded and sold Gram Games to Zynga in 2018.

The team strongly believes a compact elite team can outcompete larger players and will expand by staying selective and laser focused on gaming. They believe in driving significant value to many businesses is critical to their own success, whether they are garage startups or industry giants. They are now hiring for their founding team positions: https://www.layer.ai/careers

What makes Layer unique?

Layer is simply unmatched when it comes to seamless integration into art pipelines and intuitive creator workflows, providing a great user experience and productivity boost. As proven by customer testimonials and detailed case studies, Layer leads the race as the tool of choice for game creators of all skill levels whether they are just starting their journey or have mastered game development. Layer proves any creator can go beyond their imagination and experiment with brand new ideas and art styles. A lot of AI tools today focus on either general use cases and foundational model training, or offer standalone cool features but don’t actually serve the everyday use cases. Most of them are either too complicated or are not designed for multi-disciplinary teams and certainly not enterprise ready.

“Layer supercharges artist teams’ productivity by 240% and helps expedite the delivery of art to meet deadlines” says Production Lead, Games United

“Layer AI supercharged Tripledot’s art creation, 3Xing our production speed and elevating quality. By reducing our reliance on outsourcing studios, we’ve not only saved significant costs but also brought the magic of art production in-house. We’re incredibly excited about this technology and eagerly await further updates. VP of Creative at Tripledot Studios.

Creators not only can go faster but can also supercharge their imagination. “Our art pipeline is not only faster, the variations Layer provides has been super helpful in increasing our creative potential and exploring brand new ideas”‘ says the Artist at APPS Teknoloji. (more quotes will be available on our website by 10th of November)

Layer already empowers many artists to generate images based on their own art styles, allowing them to seamlessly iterate on these images through its premier AI-assisted canvas. Layer is the only generative AI solution that has been adopted by the teams of world’s largest mobile gaming studios. Layer has a clear direction in style-consistent output quality, speedy generation, and an intuitive interface that’s committed to solving game artists’ challenges using AI.

Volkan Gurel, the CEO believes “Just like Web 2.0, Cloud computing or mobile unlocked novel applications that beat incumbents and other startup competitors based on a great product experience, we believe the AI revolution will be no different. AI has unlocked many new applications that will be built on top of this new tech stack and we plan to win by building the best product experience for artists in the enterprise leveraging the power of all the great foundational models and tools released by OpenAI, Meta, Stability AI and others. We’re creator-first, enterprise-ready and will remain model-agnostic”.

What’s ahead?

While Layer is focusing on perfecting 2D generation in games for mobile, then AAA studios, the team is already looking ahead. In the near future, Layer will generate both spine and sprite animations from text, images and other animations and further expand to 3D workflows. Layer will also build integrations into non-gaming workflows like marketing and advertising.

Layer will continue its dedication to style-consistent output quality, seamless workflow integrations that empower and free artists from redundant workflow overheads. “AI unlocked many opportunities for gaming and we want Layer to be the easiest tool to get onboard with and the fastest to ROI “ says Burcu Ozcengiz, the CRO. Layer is already serving numerous top tier clients like Tripledot, Sciplay, Mag Interactive and hundreds of professional artists since launching in February 2023. Layer is also working to shore up their compliance program and will achieve SOC 2 and ISO certification to further cement the security and reliability of their offering for the enterprise.

“Being deeply rooted in game development we see pivotal changes coming to production with Gen-AI tools coming into play. We are not big fans of the idea of flooding the market with soulless content and Layer.AI sets itself apart by aiming to enhance, not replace, human artistry, liberating creators from mundane tasks. That is what we all believe in. We also like that their focus is on enterprise clients and their real needs for seamless integration into existing production pipelines.” – comments Maria Kochmola, General Partner at The Games Fund.

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Gaming

Dr. Shocker set to prove an ‘electrifying game’ from Galaxsy

Published

4 days ago

May 14, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

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Galaxsys continues to light-up the game’s vertical with the release of its electrifying game, Dr. Shocker, a thrilling action-packed game.

Main Release

Galaxsys, a games studio that creates high-energy games preferred by players who enjoy quick wins and something unique, is gearing up for its next major game release, Dr. Shocker, which will be available on the web and mobile.

”Dr. Shocker’ offers a thrilling, fast-paced experience where players connect electric cables to win. The ”doctor” in question is the game’s central character, who busily tries to connect electrical cables without being ”shocked”. The aim of the game is to win with the highest possible odds, and the electricity running towards the cables is electrifying!

Vigen Safaryan, Chief Product Officer of Galaxsys, commented, “We are always looking to make our games fun, engaging, relevant, and authentic around a central relatable character such as Dr. Shocker. It won’t come as a shock that this game includes all our key player engagement features, such as the Bonus Game, Auto Bet, Buy Bonus and 3 Bonus modes enjoyed by casino players.

This new turbo game not only expands our reach but also enriches the gaming experience for players. It has the potential to become a star in our portfolio, much like Ninja Crash, which recently won the ‘Most Played Game’ award in Latin America. Galaxsys is focused on our commitment to expanding our games, ensuring players always have access to the most exciting gaming experiences.”

The post Dr. Shocker set to prove an ‘electrifying game’ from Galaxsy appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Baltics

The best European gamers will meet in Vilnius: global tournaments and the latest technology presentations

Published

1 week ago

May 10, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

the-best-european-gamers-will-meet-in-vilnius:-global-tournaments-and-the-latest-technology-presentations

Reading Time: 3 minutes

As Lithuania increasingly finds itself in the spotlight of the global gaming community, country’s gamers can once again rejoice at significant news. Lithuania will host “Trackmania World Tour” stage. With this news, it is planned that 24th to 26th of May, in Vilnius the “Baltics Gaming Expo” will bring together the best gamers from across Europe and the world.

International tournaments and showcase battles

“We love to play, and we’re really good at it at the highest level. This is the second year that the “Baltics Gaming Expo” will gather video game enthusiasts and professionals from all around Europe. If last year, 29,000 participants and visitors came to participate or watch tournaments, explore the latest technologies, and try out newly released games, this year, we expect even bigger growth. After all, we have some special news – the “Trackmania” game tournament at the event is included in the global rankings. In other words, all the best players are coming to Vilnius”, says Šarūnas Tamulis, one of the organizers of the “Baltics Gaming Expo”.

Players from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Latvia, and other countries will participate in the global ranking tournament. Among the participants will be representatives from Lithuania.

The largest gaming and technology event in the Baltic States will also feature “Counter Strike”, “Valorant”, “Rocket League”, “League of Legends”, and other international tournaments.

“There will also be special showcase battles. The best players and streamers in the country will meet on the main stage and compete playing “Counter Strike” and “Valorant”, the organizer says.

From famous streamers’ to retro games

In the gaming community, it’s popular to watch other players remotely broadcast their matches via social networks (game-streaming). Streamers are like opinion leaders, whose popularity and influence grow every day.

“To the delight of our community, the very popular streamer AnnieFuchsia will also attend the event. She has gathered half a million followers on her Twitch channel alone. For those interested, we will create an opportunity to participate in a discussion with the gamer, get answers to significant questions, or even get a photo together”, says Š. Tamulis.

Attendees of the event will also be able to enjoy a space dedicated to exceptional retro games. It will feature dozens of classic arcade games from the 80s and 90s.

“The technology giant “Samsung”, has prepared special activations for the visitors. At the largest “Galaxy AI” stand, you’ll be able to familiarize yourself with the latest artificial intelligence news and try them out on smart devices. There will also be a special “Brawlstars” tournament at the stand, where well-known content creators and enthusiasts of this game from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will meet. The winner will receive the latest “Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra” phone”, the organizer presents.

A weekend for popular culture

The “Baltic Gaming Expo” will take place during “Comic Con Baltics 2024 powered by Samsung,” the largest popular culture event in the Baltic States. From May 24th to 26th, “LITEXPO” will turn into a universe of popular culture.

Fans will have the chance to meet stars from iconic Hollywood projects. Among them are actors from the “Harry Potter” films Natalia Tena and Devon Murray, “Marvel” film actor Sean Gunn, “Highlander” actor Adrian Paul, actress Natasha Halevi, internet comic stars Rob DenBleyker of “Cyanide&Happiness,” “Natural Habitat Shorts,” “Nobody Sausage,” and Nathan W. Pyle, creator of “Strange Planet” comics.

The event will also feature the largest cosplay competition in the Baltic States, premieres of the latest films, presentations, and discussions, an interactive family space, the “Artists’ Alley,” which annually unites around a hundred popular culture artists, a space for vendors offering many curiosities, impressive decorations from the most famous films and series worldwide, and many other attractions.

The post The best European gamers will meet in Vilnius: global tournaments and the latest technology presentations appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Gaming

NVIDIA and GIGABYTE bring NVIDIA Reflex iCafe Attack across 20 gaming cafes, rewarding INR 2,00,000 through esports tournament

Published

1 week ago

May 10, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

nvidia-and-gigabyte-bring-nvidia-reflex-icafe-attack-across-20-gaming-cafes,-rewarding-inr-2,00,000-through-esports-tournament

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NVIDIA, the world leader in accelerated computing, has tied up with GIGABYTE, a global leader in computer hardware, to bring the NVIDIA Reflex iCafe Attack. The esports tournament took place across 20 gaming cafes in India including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Shillong, and Bangalore, with teams registering to compete in Counter-Strike 2 for a share of the INR 2,00,000 prize pool.

Commenting on the successful association and the completion of the NVIDIA Reflex iCafe Attack, Sunil Grewal, Director, GIGABYTE India, said, “We are thrilled to wrap up the first-ever NVIDIA Reflex iCafe Attack, bringing Counter-Strike 2 esports action to cafes in every nook and corner of the country. As leaders in the manufacturing of graphic cards loved by gamers worldwide, we are glad to have organized a grassroots-level esports tournament bringing together esports enthusiasts in an epic showdown, enabling us to connect directly with the Indian PC gaming community.”

The NVIDIA Reflex iCafe Attack esports tournament, in collaboration with GIGABYTE, highlighted the importance of top-tier hardware like the GIGABYTE GEFORCE RTX 4070 SUPER GAMING OC 12GB GDDR6 in competitive gaming. With advanced features such as ray tracing and AI-enhanced graphics, this GPU ensures smooth performance and low-latency responsiveness crucial for esports titles like Counter-Strike 2. Its robust cooling system and overclocking capabilities maintain peak performance during intense gaming sessions, empowering players to excel. By integrating cutting-edge hardware, GIGABYTE enhances the esports experience, fostering competitiveness and immersion in the digital arena.

The NVIDIA Reflex iCafe Attack 2024 was a resounding success, with more than 70 teams registering to compete in the open-for-all tournament.

These 70 teams competed in their local cafes, where the best 32 advanced to the National Playoffs. The NVIDIA Reflex iCafe Attack 2024 National Playoffs happened every Saturday and Sunday, across April 2024, where the 32 teams locked horns in intense Counter-Strike 2 esports action for the lion’s share of the INR 2,00,000 prize pool.

Ultimately, Mumbai’s Global Gaming Cafe dominated Bangalore’s Colosseum Cafe 3-0 in a one-sided grand final to be crowned the champions. The team will walk away with INR 1,00,000 of the total prize pool.

● Global Gaming Cafe (Mumbai): INR 1,00,000

● Colosseum Cafe (Bangalore): INR, 60,000

● Immortal Cafe (Delhi): INR 40,000

The post NVIDIA and GIGABYTE bring NVIDIA Reflex iCafe Attack across 20 gaming cafes, rewarding INR 2,00,000 through esports tournament appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.