Pixar

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

VFX artists show that Hollywood can use AI to create, not exploit

Hollywood may be embroiled in ongoing labor disputes that involve AI, but the technology infiltrated film and TV long, long ago. At SIGGRAPH in LA, algorithmic and generative tools were on display in

Disney accelerator alum Miko celebrates 140-country launch

It looks like Miko’s participation in the Disney Accelerator is paying off in a big way, as the company is bringing Disney and Pixar characters to its Miko 3 robot for kids. The company launched

‘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

Gaming vets promise to make blockchain games fun and sustainable

The runaway success of Axie Infinity and StepN has convinced a flurry of entrepreneurs that web3 gaming, where the ownership of in-game assets is in the hands of users via blockchain adoption rather t

Crypto gaming firm Cauldron raises $6.6M to build ‘Pixar of web3’

A number of crypto gaming firms have ramped up production in the past year with hopes of revolutionizing the growing industry. Adding to the list is London-based gaming firm Cauldron, which plans on b

Hear how Columbus, Ohio startups are hiring tech talent

Columbus, Ohio’s technology job scene really took off in the early 2010s when the state made investments that enabled entrepreneurs to more easily start companies. Fast-forward to today, and compani

Nvidia expands its Omniverse

Omniverse is Nvidia’s platform for allowing creators, designers and engineers to collaboratively build virtual worlds. It’s the company’s platform that brings together design tools a

Disney+ rolls out support for Apple’s SharePlay co-viewing experience over FaceTime

Disney+ is the latest streaming app to add support for Apple’s SharePlay, the iOS 15 feature that offers a co-viewing experience over FaceTime video calls on iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV device

Self-driving startup Aurora taps Pixar veterans to make a more realistic virtual world for testing

Aurora, the autonomous vehicle startup scheduled to make its debut on Nasdaq next week, is turning to a team of Pixar veterans to help make the computer simulation tool used to test and train its self

Amazon introduces Amazon Glow, an interactive, video calling device for kids and families

Amazon today introduced Amazon Glow, a new, interactive device aimed at families that allows kids to interact with family members and other remote loved ones over video calls. While something of a com

Disney and Amazon partner on a custom voice assistant, ‘Hey, Disney!’ and Echo rollout to Walt Disney World Resort hotels

Amazon, for the first time, is making another voice assistant available on Echo devices. The company at its fall event today announced a new voice assistant, “Hey, Disney,” developed by Di

Original Content podcast: Pixar’s ‘Soul’ offers a lively visit to pre-pandemic New York

For the latest episode of the Original Content podcast, we looked back at “Soul,” which was released on Disney+ at the end of last year. The new Pixar film tells the story of Joe Gardner,

Using 25% lower bandwidth, Disney+ launches in UK, Ireland and 5 other European countries, France to come online April 7

Disney+, the streaming service from the Walt Disney Company, has been rapidly ramping up in the last several weeks. But while some of that expansion has seen some hiccups, other regions are basically

Pixar CG pioneers Pat Hanrahan and Edwin Catmull share $1M Turing Award

The 2019 Turing Award, one of the highest honors in computing, was today awarded to Pat Hanrahan and Ed Catmull, founding members of Pixar who helped shape the future of computer graphics. The two wil

Star Wars and Marvel content is most watched among Disney+ trial users, led by ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

Early adopters of Disney+ are mostly watching Marvel and Star Wars movies and TV shows, according to a new third-party report by SimilarWeb out today. The analytics firm measured Disney+ usage in its

The new Disney+ streaming service is oriented around fans and families

You can tell a lot about a service by what it prioritizes on its home screen. With the new Disney + service, the focus is initially organized by fan base, with different silos for the company’s

Dreading 10x engineers, virtual beings, the fate of Netflix, and Salesforce’s acquisition

The dreaded 10x, or, how to handle exceptional employees The reality (myth?) is that there are engineers who are ten times more productive than other engineers (some would argue 100x, but okay). Jon E

Spotify partners with Disney on a new streaming hub aimed at families

In an effort likely aimed at boosting family memberships, Spotify this morning announced a new partnership with Disney on the creation of a Disney Hub on its streaming service. Here, Disney fans in se

Consolidation is coming to gaming, and Jam City raises $145 million to capitalize on it

A slew of banks are coming together to back a new roll-up strategy for the Los Angeles-based mobile gaming studio Jam City and giving the company $145 million in new funding to carry that out. There
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