Latest news with #AndrewCarr
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI Animation Firm Cartwheel Emerges From Beta; Pixar Alums In Exec Ranks, Jeffrey Katzenberg's WndrCo Among Backers
EXCLUSIVE: AI firm Cartwheel has emerged from closed beta, promising to help make the 3D animation process smoother and accessible to a wider range of creative workers. The company was co-founded by Jonathan Jarvis and Andrew Carr. Jarvis, who is CEO, spent nearly seven years at Google and also runs animation and gaming studio Universal Patterns. Carr, who is Chief Scientist, interned at Google and later worked at OpenAI. More from Deadline Generative AI Studio Promise Wins Backing From Google; Peter Chernin's North Road Company Also Ups Investment Conan O'Brien Joins 'Toy Story 5' SAG-AFTRA Responds To Fortnite's AI-Generated Darth Vader Feature With Unfair Labor Complaint Staffers at the company include Pixar alums Catherine Hicks and Neil Helm, along with veterans of Riot Games and Sony's Spiderverse franchise. Along with its emergence from beta, the company revealed $10 million in new funding led by David Sacks' VC firm Craft Ventures, bringing its total funding to $15.6 million. Participants in the latest funding round include existing investors like Katzenberg's WndrCo, Ben Feder's Tirta, Accel, Khosla Ventures, Human Ventures and established AI firm Runway. Cartwheel focuses on 3D animation, in particular aiding the process of how animated characters move, and says 60,000 people have signed up for the waitlist to gain access to its set of tools. During the closed beta, the company's tools were used by creatives at companies including DreamWorks, Duolingo, Sony and Roblox. The company says it can turn video, text and large motion libraries into production-ready 3D character animations that can be moved, edited and downloaded directly into current workflows. Along with prototyping ideas or refining their work, animators can also tap Cartwheel's library for a motion to fit or inspire their scene. Even non-pros can use Cartwheel to generate video clips, and designers and developers can turn their character animations into files to be added to apps or websites. The co-founders compared their company's impact on the field of animation to that of the iPhone on photography. 'We've developed a new way to simplify the animation process, putting creatives in the drivers' seat as they dramatically accelerate their workflows, eliminate tedious tasks, free up budget for more creative exploration, and enhance control over their final products,' they said. The company's impact will be felt across animated films, anime, gaming, advertising and storyboarding, social media and other areas, they said. At Pixar, Hicks was animation director and worked on more than 15 movies, including the Oscar-winning Inside Out, Coco and Toy Story 3. She is Cartwheel's head of animation innovation. Helm, who is the head of interactive animation at Cartwheel, focused on motion and crowd elements at Pixar, working on Inside Out 2, Turning Red, Lightyear, and the third and fourth Toy Story installments. 'Cartwheel has changed the entire paradigm of animation by introducing a new toolset that builds on the artistry of animation, making productions more efficient so more stories can be told,' Feder, Managing Partner at Tirta Ventures. 'Where concepts could take days, weeks, or months to visualize, Cartwheel's technology makes the process virtually instant, unleashing an entirely new world of storytelling possibilities.' Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies In Order - See Tom Cruise's 30-Year Journey As Ethan Hunt Denzel Washington's Career In Pictures: From 'Carbon Copy' To 'The Equalizer 3' Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
AI Startup Cartwheel, Led By OpenAI And Google Veterans, Raises $10 Million To Simplify 3D Animation
Founders Andrew Carr (L) and Jeffrey Jarvis (R) Cartwheel Cartwheel, a new 3D animation company founded by OpenAI scientist Andrew Carr and former Google creative director Jonathan Jarvis, has come out of stealth with a browser-based animation platform designed to dramatically accelerate the creation of character animation for games, films, advertising, and social content. The company also announced a $10 million funding round led by Craft Ventures, bringing its total raised to $15.6 million. Cartwheel's tools allow users to generate rigged 3D character animations from text, video, or motion library prompts. The platform supports professional workflows, including exports to Maya and Unreal, but also includes a simplified interface designed to let less technical users build animated scenes and characters directly in the browser. Cartwheel's technology reduces the time required for common animation tasks from hours or days to minutes, enabling creators to experiment, iterate, and deploy animation assets at production scale. 'There's this core frustration animators face with today's software,' Carr told me. 'You need huge teams and weeks of effort to do things that should be fast. We wanted to solve that.' Carr previously worked at OpenAI on code generation tools and saw the potential for language models to unlock animation workflows. Jarvis, a designer who helped launch Google Creative Lab and later led the animation-focused studio Universal Pattern. He and Carr started the company together in 2023. The platform supports text-to-motion generation, motion remixing, and in-browser character rigging. Users can search from a curated library of animations or type prompts such as 'cast a wizard spell' or 'do a silly dance,' and receive rigged motion sequences that can be applied to custom or generated characters. Animations are fully editable and exportable, and the system is being designed to integrate into industry-standard environments like Unity and Unreal. Cartwheel's team includes veterans from Pixar, Riot Games, Sony, and Unity. Animation director Catherine Hicks, whose credits include Coco, Toy Story 3, and Inside Out, has joined as head of animation innovation. Neil Helm, known for leading crowd animation on Inside Out 2, Turning Red, and Up, has been named head of interactive animation. They are helping refine Cartwheel's tools and rigging systems from an animator's perspective. The company's early access program attracted more than 8,000 beta users, including creatives from DreamWorks, Roblox, Duolingo, and Take-Two. Many of those users, according to Carr, were exploring how Cartwheel could accelerate background and crowd animation, rapid prototyping, or previsualization tasks traditionally bogged down by time and cost. 'Animation software hasn't really changed in 20 years,' Carr said. 'There's no reason the same rigging or blocking task should take three hours every time.' Cartwheel also includes a character generator trained on licensed 3D assets. Users can upload sketches or models and receive rigged characters in return. The founders were adamant about the importance of training on paid, ethically sourced data, especially as legal scrutiny mounts around AI training practices. Cartwheel enters a growing field that includes Anything World and Wonder Dynamics. Anything World focuses on auto-rigging and animating 3D assets for game engines like Unity and Unreal, offering a large asset library and developer-friendly tools. Wonder Dynamics, now part of Autodesk, enables filmmakers to insert CG characters into live-action footage without traditional motion capture. All are focused on professional animators working primarily on video games, and background characters in commercial animation. Cartwheel's backers include WndrCo, Khosla Ventures, Accel, Tirta, Human Ventures, and Runway, the AI video company. Investors see the technology as applicable beyond media and entertainment, with potential for marketing, education, and e-commerce. The startup's next steps include an API, planned for release later this year, that would allow developers to integrate Cartwheel directly into games or other interactive environments. For now, anyone can sign up and begin animating in the browser at 'The tools of storytelling should be in more hands,' said Carr. 'That's what we're building for.'
Washington Post
22-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Oweh scores 20 points as third-seeded Kentucky beats Troy 76-57 in the NCAA Tournament
MILWAUKEE — Otega Oweh scored 20 points, Andrew Carr had 13 and third-seeded Kentucky beat Troy 76-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. Oweh added eight assists and six rebounds, and Amari Williams grabbed 13 boards for Kentucky.
USA Today
21-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Troy Trojans: March Madness First Round live stream, TV channel, start time, odds
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Troy Trojans: March Madness First Round live stream, TV channel, start time, odds The No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats (22-11) will aim to defeat the No. 14 seed Troy Trojans (23-10) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Fiserv Forum. Watch this contest at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS. Kentucky lost to Alabama 99-70 on the road last time out, and were led by Andrew Carr (18 PTS, 2 STL, 80 FG%) and Amari Williams (16 PTS, 7 REB, 50 FG%). In its most recent game, Troy were winners at home over Arkansas State, 94-81. Its top scorers were Tayton Conerway (21 PTS, 47.06 FG%) and Myles Rigsby (20 PTS, 2 STL, 50 FG%). As college basketball matchups continue, get ready for the outing with everything you need to know before Friday's game. Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll Watch the NCAA Tournament on Sling TV! Kentucky Wildcats vs. Troy Trojans Game day: Friday, March 21, 2025 Friday, March 21, 2025 Game time: 7:10 p.m. ET 7:10 p.m. ET TV: CBS CBS Live stream: Fubo (Regional restrictions may apply) Fubo (Regional restrictions may apply) Live stream: Paramount+ - Watch Now! NCAA Basketball Odds and Betting Lines Spread: Kentucky -11.5 Kentucky -11.5 Total: 151.5 College basketball odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 8:59 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Watch the NCAA Tournament on Sling TV! Follow the latest college sports coverage at College Sports Wire.
USA Today
21-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How to watch Kentucky vs. Troy in Men's March Madness: Time, TV channel, streaming
How to watch Kentucky vs. Troy in Men's March Madness: Time, TV channel, streaming The No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats (22-11) take on the No. 14 Troy Trojans (23-10) in the opening round of the men's NCAA Tournament on Friday, beginning at 7:10 p.m. ET. Their last time out, Kentucky lost 99-70 to Alabama on Friday. Troy heads into this contest after a 94-81 win against Arkansas State on Monday. In Kentucky's loss, Andrew Carr led the way with a team-high 18 points (adding two rebounds and one assist). Tayton Conerway totaled 21 points, six rebounds and three assists for Troy. Kentucky vs. Troy TV channel NCAA Tournament Location: Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Date: Friday, March 21, 2025 Friday, March 21, 2025 Time: 7:10 p.m. ET 7:10 p.m. ET TV channel: CBS (watch on Fubo) CBS (watch on Fubo) Stream: Fubo What time is Kentucky vs. Troy basketball today? Kentucky and Troy hit the court at 7:10 p.m. ET. Watch Troy vs. Kentucky with Fubo Kentucky vs. Troy odds, lines, spread Spread: Kentucky -11.5 Kentucky -11.5 Total: 151.5 151.5 Moneyline: Kentucky -741, Troy +518 In its last 10 games, Kentucky has been scoring 82.0 points per contest, an average that's slightly lower than the 85.3 it has scored over the course of the 2024-25 season. Troy is putting up 75.1 points per contest over its previous 10 games, which is 1.2 more than its average for the season (73.9). Kentucky Wildcats basketball schedule Date Opponent Score TV 11/4/2024 Wright State W 103-62 - 11/9/2024 Bucknell W 100-72 - 11/12/2024 Duke W 77-72 - 11/19/2024 Lipscomb W 97-68 - 11/22/2024 Jackson State W 108-59 - 11/26/2024 Western Kentucky W 87-68 - 11/29/2024 Georgia State W 105-76 - 12/3/2024 @ Clemson L 70-66 - 12/7/2024 Gonzaga W 90-89 - 12/11/2024 Colgate W 78-67 - 12/14/2024 Louisville W 93-85 - 12/21/2024 Ohio State L 85-65 - 12/31/2024 Brown W 88-54 - 1/4/2025 Florida W 106-100 - 1/7/2025 @ Georgia L 82-69 - 1/11/2025 @ Mississippi State W 95-90 - 1/14/2025 Texas A&M W 81-69 - 1/18/2025 Alabama L 102-97 - 1/25/2025 @ Vanderbilt L 74-69 - 1/28/2025 @ Tennessee W 78-73 - 2/1/2025 Arkansas L 89-79 - 2/4/2025 @ Ole Miss L 98-84 - 2/8/2025 South Carolina W 80-57 - 2/11/2025 Tennessee W 75-64 - 2/15/2025 @ Texas L 82-78 - 2/19/2025 Vanderbilt W 82-61 - 2/22/2025 @ Alabama L 96-83 - 2/26/2025 @ Oklahoma W 83-82 - 3/1/2025 Auburn L 94-78 - 3/4/2025 LSU W 95-64 - 3/8/2025 @ Missouri W 91-83 - 3/13/2025 Oklahoma W 85-84 - 3/14/2025 Alabama L 99-70 - 3/21/2025 Troy - CBS Troy Trojans basketball schedule Date Opponent Score TV 11/4/2024 Toledo W 84-74 - 11/9/2024 @ New Orleans W 78-61 - 11/13/2024 @ Arkansas L 65-49 - 11/17/2024 @ Oregon L 82-61 - 11/19/2024 @ West Georgia W 84-65 - 11/25/2024 UTSA W 86-72 - 11/29/2024 Merrimack L 72-68 - 12/1/2024 Eastern Kentucky W 84-74 - 12/10/2024 @ Houston L 62-42 - 12/14/2024 Middle Georgia State W 87-53 - 12/17/2024 LaGrange W 105-60 - 12/21/2024 Georgia State W 77-57 - 1/2/2025 @ Appalachian State W 69-61 - 1/4/2025 @ Marshall W 58-57 - 1/9/2025 Texas State L 74-73 - 1/11/2025 Arkansas State L 84-78 - 1/15/2025 @ UL Monroe W 77-58 - 1/18/2025 @ South Alabama L 64-63 - 1/25/2025 South Alabama W 65-55 - 1/27/2025 Southern Miss W 70-61 - 1/30/2025 Georgia Southern W 81-74 - 2/1/2025 UL Monroe W 87-50 - 2/5/2025 @ James Madison L 64-61 - 2/8/2025 @ Miami (OH) L 69-62 - 2/12/2025 @ Louisiana W 74-56 - 2/15/2025 @ Arkansas State W 71-70 - 2/20/2025 Louisiana L 72-69 - 2/22/2025 Coastal Carolina W 83-66 - 2/25/2025 @ Texas State W 74-69 - 2/28/2025 @ Southern Miss W 70-58 - 3/8/2025 Old Dominion W 75-59 - 3/9/2025 James Madison W 79-60 - 3/10/2025 Arkansas State W 94-81 - 3/21/2025 Kentucky - CBS Watch Troy vs. Kentucky with Fubo
