animation

As Disney pushes toward streaming profitability, Pixar to undergo layoffs in 2024

Disney-owned animation studio Pixar is poised to undergo layoffs this year, TechCrunch has learned and the company confirmed. While sources at the company said the layoffs would be significant and as

Cinemin is a fun camera app with animated film aesthetics without any AI

Tinrocket, makers of popular apps such as Waterlogue and Olli, has released a new camera app called Cinemin to shoot animated photos and videos without the help of any AI filters. The app, available f

Netflix downsizes its animation department, impacting 30 employees

Yet another round of layoffs at Netflix has unfortunately affected 30 Netflix Animation employees. Deadline first reported the news, and Netflix confirmed to TechCrunch that the company is downsizing

Studio Ghibli films just became available to rent on major digital platforms Apple TV, Amazon and more

It’s an exciting day for Studio Ghibli fans — fans in the United States and Canada, that is. The majority of Studio Ghibli’s film catalog has just been released to major digital rental platf

Crypto, where the fallen seek a fresh start

Welcome back to Chain Reaction. Last week, we talked about privacy in crypto and how it’s sometimes at odds with regulation. This week, we’re covering a larger-than-life founder who is per

‘Lightyear’ streams today, the first Pixar film on Disney+ with scenes in IMAX’s Expanded Aspect Ratio

“Lightyear” was the first Pixar movie in two years to make it to theaters. A month and a half later, it finally hits the streaming platform Disney+. Today, August 3, subscribers can watch the “T

Disney+ delivers first looks of new Spider-Man, X-Men, Groot and Marvel Zombies animated series

Disney+ made its debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 (SDCC) and gave Marvel fans a whole bunch of shows to look forward to. This marked Marvel Studios’ first appearance at the event in three years, an

Netflix acquires animation studio Animal Logic

Alongside the report in its Q2 2022 letter to shareholders that Netflix lost 970,000 subscribers, Netflix also announced the acquisition of Animal Logic, the Australian animation studio responsible fo

Nintendo acquires CG animation studio and renames it Nintendo Pictures

Nintendo has entered an agreement to acquire CG animation company Dynamo Pictures in order to develop visual content using Nintendo IP. The gaming company is buying 100% of outstanding shares of Dynam

YouTube ends Lofi Girl’s two-year-long music stream over bogus DMCA warning

There are three constants in life: death, taxes and the “lofi hip hop radio — beats to relax/study to” YouTube stream. That is, until YouTube falsely hit the Lofi Girl channel with a DMC

This startup hopes photonics will get us to AI systems faster

The problem with waiting for quantum computing to bring in the next wave of AI is that it’s likely to arrive a lot slower than people would like. The next best options include increasing the speed o

LottieFiles raises $37M Series B to make the animation format even more ubiquitous

Lottie animations are everywhere. The JSON-based file format, first introduced as an open source library by Airbnb engineers, can now be seen in the top 500 iOS and Android apps, said LottieFiles co-f

Just like IRL, the metaverse requires infrastructure. We don’t have it yet

The idea of bringing thousands of people together in a virtual space is not new: Online multiplayer games have been doing that for a long time. So surely it should be easy for Meta to do as much?

AI creative platform D-ID, the tech behind those viral videos of animated family photos, raises $25M

D-ID, the Israeli company leveraging artificial intelligence to create unique, viral experiences like “Deep Nostalgia,” which animates the faces of long-lost relatives in your old photos,

MyHeritage and D-ID partner to bring photos to life with both animations and voice

Last year, genealogy service MyHeritage went viral after introducing a new “deepfake” feature that allowed users to animate the faces of loved ones in still photos. TikTok users posted vid

Google has a Wordle Easter egg and it’s cute, okay

I know, I know, you’re tired of Wordle. Just mute the word “wordle” on Twitter and don’t be like the guy who made a Wordle-spoiling bot and got banned from Twitter today for be

Soona, a virtual photo shoot platform for e-commerce, raises $35 million Series B

Alongside the dramatic growth in e-commerce, in part fueled by the pandemic, there’s also increased demand for services that can help merchants more easily participate online. A startup called S

Fiverr acquires Stoke Talent for $95M, adding freelance management tools for employers to its platform

On the heels of LinkedIn last week launching Service Marketplace, a competitor to freelance platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, today Fiverr announced an acquisition that speaks to how it plans to stay

Netflix begins testing mobile games in its Android app in Poland

Netflix today announced it will begin testing mobile games inside its Android app for its members in Poland. At launch, paying subscribers will be able to try out two games, “Stranger Things: 19

LOVE unveils a modern video messaging app with a business model that puts users in control

A London-headquartered startup called LOVE, valued at $17 million following its pre-seed funding, aims to redefine how people stay in touch with close family and friends. The company is launching a me
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