Tampa tech firm receives $10M seed investment for virtual production studio network

Tampa-based startup Vū Technologies, the creator of the virtual production Vū Studio for film and video, has closed on a $10 million seed investment from Minneapolis-based ADX Labs Inc.

“This year we plan on building several more studios in North America to add to our existing network and begin building our network abroad,” Tim Moore, Vū Technologies co-founder and CEO, said in a release.

Vū Studios, which opened in Tampa last year, intends to use all of the seed investment to rapidly build advanced new virtual production campuses in Las Vegas, Nevada; Nashville, Tennessee and other locations in the northeastern United States in the first quarter of 2021. By the end of 2022, the company plans to add campuses in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Stanford and Toledo. 

Unlike traditional filmmaking, virtual production allows filmmakers to shoot realistic virtual environments in the studio, saving time and money. 

“Vū Studios represents the pinnacle of virtual production technology and integration. The unique Vū Studios offering has transformed the economics of film and video production. We are thrilled to have invested in the world’s largest virtual production network,” Steven Renner, founder of investor ADX Labs, said in the release. 

Vū Studios is known for using advanced sound stages utilizing value-added integration of proprietary and patented Vū technologies with third-party vendor products, including Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, Mark Roberts Motion Control and Mo-Sys motion tracking devices.

As part of the investment, ADX Labs will contribute a new director to the Vū Technologies board.

Vū Technologies’ clients include Mercedes, Apple, Neiman Marcus and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE), according to the firm.