Cartwheel's Funding Boosts AI Animation Tools for Creatives

In an exciting development for the animation industry, AI animation startup Cartwheel (https://www.cartwheel.com) has successfully raised $10 million in a recent funding round, bringing its total funding to $15.6 million. This funding was led by Craft Ventures (https://www.craftventures.com) , with notable contributions from industry heavyweights such as Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo (https://www.wndr.co) , Ben Feder’s Tirta Ventures (https://www.tirtaventures.com) , and Runway (https://runwayml.com) . Existing investors like Accel (https://www.accel.com) , Khosla (https://www.khoslaventures.com) , and Human Ventures (https://www.humanventures.com) also participated in this round, reflecting strong confidence in Cartwheel’s innovative approach to animation.

Founded in 2023, Cartwheel aims to revolutionize the animation process by providing AI-driven tools that simplify and accelerate the creation of 3D character animations. After a year-long closed beta test involving 8,000 artists from renowned studios such as Pixar (https://www.pixar.com) and DreamWorks Animation (https://www.dreamworks.com) , the company is now ready to unveil its first suite of tools to the public.

According to co-founders Jonathan Jarvis (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanjjarvis) and Andrew Carr (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhcarr) , the new toolset is designed to transform video, text, and large motion libraries into production-ready animations. This innovation caters not only to feature films and video games but also to social media content creators looking to enhance their visual storytelling.

Jarvis, a former member of the Google Creative Lab (https://creativelab.withgoogle.com) , and Carr, an alumnus of OpenAI (https://openai.com) , emphasized that their tools aim to put creatives in control of their workflows. By dramatically speeding up the animation process, these tools help eliminate tedious tasks and reduce production costs while giving artists more control over their final products.

Additionally, Carr highlighted that the new tools can seamlessly integrate with existing 3D animation software and are compatible with traditional animation pipelines. This flexibility allows professionals to enhance their current workflows without having to overhaul their entire animation process.

As the animation landscape continues to evolve, advancements like those offered by Cartwheel are essential for keeping pace with industry demands. By harnessing the power of AI, Cartwheel is not only making animation more accessible but also empowering artists to focus on their creativity rather than the technical hurdles traditionally associated with animation.

Cited: https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/ai-cartwheel-raises-10-million-character-animation-1236395878/