Accenture invests in Tampa’s Vu Technologies

Global professional services company Accenture has invested an undisclosed amount of money in Vu Technologies, the Tampa-based virtual production and filmmaking company.

Vu, which also has studios in Orlando, Nashville and Las Vegas, blends live-action footage and computer-generated content, which allows its clients to control many pre-production factors, including cost.

“Accenture’s investment in Vu represents a significant milestone in our journey to democratize creative content production,” said Vu CEO Tim Moore in a prepared statement. “We are excited to work with Accenture and leverage their global reach to bring the benefits of virtual production and large format simulation to their clients and partners.” 

Added Dan Garrison, Accenture’s chief technology officer: “We believe Vu Technology’s immersive studio network can help our clients and our people reach new levels of creativity and multifaceted storytelling.”

Vu (formerly Diamond View), which operates mostly in sports, entertainment, automotive, retail and corporate events, has a 35,000 square foot studio at University Square Mall in Tampa with two sound stages and a 100-foot-wide LED volume wall – a system of linked, high-end LED panels used to display video footage or 3D content to provide a background behind actors. Vu provides both studio-based and mobile LED walls and high-speed robotic cameras.

Among its services is Vu One, which comprises an LED wall – including a media server and camera tracking – a virtual studio and a content library featuring a pre-loaded, built in virtual environment library.

Among its clients are Amazon, Disney and CBS Sports. It has done productions for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buccaneers, Amazon Freight Services, for country singer Carrie Underwood and commercials for BMW and Mercedes Benz. Vu also utilizes a proprietary, generative AI workflow tool called Vu.ai that augments pre-built virtual environments and design workflows based on image and text prompting.

Vu also works with about two dozen partner studios in the United States plus one in London. Among local studios are the Universities of Tampa and South Florida, Tampa healthcare manufacturer Jabil, and Naples’ Arthrex, a surgical tool manufacturer.

Daniel Mallek, Vu’s Vice President of Content and Innovation, emphasized that the investment is not simply about an infusion of cash but a mutually beneficial arrangement where Accenture will access Vu’s technology while Vu takes advantage of Accenture’s suite of clients, expertise and products.

“We are more focused on how we can do business together,” he told the Catalyst. While stating that the fruits of the investment will be trained on Accenture’s clients, Mallek clarified that there aren’t specific clients or products targeted. “The real benefit is to partner with them to provide extraordinary experiences to our customers.” The work will focus on generative AI and workflow cooperation, he added.

Accenture, based in New York, deploys over 700,000 employees in 120 countries to help clients build their digital core, optimize operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services. Their core divisions are Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. The investment came from the company’s global investment and engagement program Accenture Ventures.