Latent Technology, a game technology company focused on AI-driven physical animation, has closed an $8 million seed funding round.
Founded in 2022 in London, Latent Technology provides developers with new workflows to create emergent, real-time animation behaviors with minimal input.
While most video game animations today rely on pre-defined movement sequences – limiting real-time interactivity and failing to respond dynamically to the evolving game environment – Latent’s breakthrough, Generative Physics Animation, challenges this convention. By combining neural networks and physics, it enables characters to move and respond dynamically, in real time, said Jorge del Val, co-founder and CEO of Latent Technology, in an interview with GamesBeat.
Latent Technology founders Jack Harmer (left) and Jorge del Val.
“We’re creating the engine that will enable developers based on a foundation model, but it’s a foundation model for the kind of technology that we are doing, which we call a narrative physics animation,” del Val said. “It’s not the same foundation model as an LLM. We are calling it Phoenix, and it will be the most advanced foundation model when it comes out.”
AlbionVC and Spark Capital co-led the round, which also saw participation from Root Ventures and Alumni Ventures, marks a significant milestone as the company prepares to scale its breakthrough animation technology.
Latent said the challenge of doing physics right is becoming more urgent as game development costs rise sharply. Budgets for triple-A games have increased significantly, with projections indicating an 8% CAGR through 2028, outpacing revenue growth and putting pressure on studios to deliver high-quality, cost-efficient games.
Latent’s technology is built on Phoenix, the company’s proprietary generative physics animation model currently under development. Unlike manually crafted or pre-rendered animations, the system enables autonomous behaviours that respond to the environment in real time.
Latent Technology is generating physics for games in real time.
“I’ve never been a big fan of incremental innovation when you make the same thing a bit cheaper or more efficient. I’ve always liked more the things that give you fundamentally different experiences,” said del Val.
This creates a new foundation for interactive experiences, where characters and environments react dynamically to player input and evolving gameplay conditions instead of following pre-scripted sequences.
“AI gives us the opportunity to transform not only how developers create games, but also how players experience them,” said del Val. “While many companies are using AI to optimise existing workflows, we’re focused on enabling something fundamentally new – emergent, interactive animation that reacts in real time. Our aim is to evolve the animation paradigm towards emergent physical behaviors, opening up new, creative possibilities for developers and dynamic experiences for players.”
The new investment will support the …