Manchester firm behind Call of Duty tech lands £20m investment

Tech firm Cubic Motion has secured an eight-figure investment from private equity house NorthEdge Capital.

The Manchester-based company will use the £20m boost to accelerate the deployment of its real-time facial animation technologies for the digital entertainment industry.

The investment will also enable the firm to create around 70 jobs and open a new office in California, according to the Financial Times.

Cubic Motion is headquartered at Manchester Science Park and led by CEO Dr. Gareth Edwards.

The firm’s vision technology is currently best known for its use in high fidelity facial animation, particularly in video games such as popular shooter series Call of Duty and action-adventure title Hellblade.

Dr Gareth Edwards said: “Cubic Motion is delighted to work with NorthEdge – the ideal equity partner for the rapid growth ahead.

“By organically growing the business to its present scale, we have proven the power of our computer vision technology to transform content production.”

He continued: “We are particularly proud to be the trusted supplier to many of the world’s largest publishers and developers. Aided by NorthEdge’s investment and experience, we will deploy an expanding range of licensed software solutions, bringing real-time vision and animation capabilities direct to our clients and partners, revolutionising the way content is made.”

NorthEdge’s head of Manchester, Jon Pickering, and investment manager George Potts led on the deal with support from investment executive Greg Holmes.

NorthEdge will be represented on the Cubic Motion board by George Potts and Andy Ball.

Mr Potts said: “Cubic Motion is at the cutting edge of a sector undergoing substantial growth. We believe the breadth and depth of experience, expertise and quality throughout the company sets Cubic Motion apart from its competition; with its recent work on Hellblade being a great example.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to support Gareth and the team as they seek to build upon their platform of best-in-class computer vision technology and animation services.”

He added: “Our collaboration will enable the company to double headcount within two years and deepen relationships with key clients across the globe.”

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