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Yellow has raised $5 million in seed funding from A16z Games to fund further development of its Gen AI-powered 3D modeling tool. With its YellowSculpt tool, artists can generate clean, pre-rigged 3D character meshes based on a text prompt in under three minutes.
Like 2D image generators, Yellow makes 3D character creation accessible to a wider audience. Additionally, YellowSculpt removes much of the work necessary to make 3D characters ready to animate and use in a game.
“What sets Yellow apart is their focus on empowering human creativity through AI — they’re building tools that not only amplify today’s professional 3D artists but also make character creation accessible to all,” said Jack Soslow, Partner at A16z. “Yellow combines deep AI research capabilities with strong product and commercial instincts which we believe will enable the next chapter of human creativity.”
Yellow was cofounded in 2023 by CEO Mandeep Waraich, formerly Google’s Head of Product: Core ML – Large Models and Industrial AI, and Chief Scientist Prof. Vincent Sitzmann from MIT’s Scene Representation Group.
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In addition to Sitzmann, Yellow brought in more academic experts to overcome the technical challenges of delivering consistent, high-quality results. This includes Prof. Chris Rupperecht from Oxford University’s Visual Geometry Group and Prof. Ludwig Schmidt from Stanford’s Computer Vision group.
Industry uptake
In addition to boosting an artist’s creative output, YellowSculpt aims to reduce friction in other ways. Generated meshes integrate seamlessly with top game engines like Unity, Unreal and Roblox or other 3D authoring tools like Daz Studio, Maya and Blender.
Notably, Yellow forged an exclusive partnership with Tafi, the developers of Daz Studio, in January 2024. Yellow leveraged Daz’s 3D library, specifically its Genesis Character Content, to train its gen AI model. This partnership allowed Yellow to train its generative AI model in an ethical and IP-safe manner.
“Given Tafi’s market position as a leading 3D tooling/asset marketplace, we have talked with many 3D generative AI tool companies in the market and we can confidently state what Yellow can do is unparalleled. They have that rare combination of strategic vision and best-in-class execution,” said Preston Woo, chief strategy officer of Tafi. “It was very easy for us to pursue a partnership with Yellow to strengthen our 3D capabilities by bringing in Yellow’s 3D AI technologies to power our 3D character generation system.”
Yellow’s next steps
Since closing its fundraising round in mid-2023, Yellow has invested heavily into its research. The company has scaled to 12 employees distributed around the globe, with three set to join in the next month.
“We’re excited for the next chapter of growth and innovation at Yellow while staying steadfast to our mission of bringing professional grade 3D generative AI tools to everyone. We are currently working on extending YellowSculpt, which today generates humanoid characters, to include fantasy characters, as well as generating lifelike expressions and motion to these characters,” said Waraich in an email to GamesBeat.
“Over the coming months, we’ll continue to grow the team while investigating the possibilities of creating immersive 3D environments where these characters can interact. This exploration aims to provide a limitless canvas for creativity, offering everyone the tools to craft rich 3D worlds in gaming and beyond.”
