Motorica, a generative AI animation startup, has raised €5 million (about 5.8 million) in new funding. The company develops a framework that enables the creation of in-game animations using a genAI mocap actor.
Angular Ventures is leading the investment, which was announced today. Luminar Ventures is also involved. According to the firm, the funding will help with its “rapid expansion,” which includes “continuing investment in R&D to shape the future of instant character animation and scaling of its proprietary AI platform.”
According to Motorica CEO Willem Demmers, animators only devote 30% of their time to truly creative performance and 70% of their time to technical drudgery. The purpose of the tool is to reverse the numbers.
“By automating the grind—things like tedious keyframing for basic locomotion—we let creators focus on what matters: storytelling, emotion, and innovation,” Demmers stated in the release. “That shift helps studios move faster, push quality higher, and ship with less friction.”
According to Motorica, AAA studios are already utilizing the technology in live production settings. Examples from the official website include Digital Continue, Far Out Games, and Quantic Dream.
According to the announcement, Motorica is “the best tool out there for locomotion animation and Motion Matching,” producing “better, more consistent results than mocap as they give you exact control on acceleration and target speed, and more.” Maxi Keller, senior cinematic animator at agora.studio, has experience with games like The Last of Us: Part II and Call of Duty: WWII.
Following the investment, short-term plans include hiring across engineering, animation, data, and customer success; growing the company’s data infrastructure and motion library; establishing partnerships with game engines, simulation platforms, and VFX studios; and expanding integrations via SDKs and APIs to push for a more plug-and-play nature.
“Motorica’s team is committed to augmenting creativity, not automating it away,” the announcement’s Artist Commitment states. Instead of taking the place of human ingenuity, Motorica’s tools free up creative teams to concentrate on performance, narrative, and style by removing tedious tasks like character locomotion and filler cycles.
AI-generated 3D models frequently have obvious flaws
According to the 2025 Game Developers Conference State of the business Report, 30% of developers claimed the technology will have a “negative” impact on the business, while 51% of developers indicated generative AI technologies are already being used at their workplaces. Developers have since voiced worries about the quality of AI-generated 3D models, which occasionally exhibit obvious defects.
In other parts of the industry, the excitement for genAI hasn’t decreased as a result. Krafton unveiled “human-like” genAI companions in January, and Microsoft submitted a patent application for “altering narrative experiences” using the technology.
Some businesses implementing generative AI have been embroiled in controversy elsewhere this year. Sony allegedly employed genAI to produce an eerie animatronic of the main character of the Horizon series, Aloy, while independent developer Serene Questworks was accused of substituting AI vocals for the voices of its game’s cast. Meanwhile, the CEO of Compulsion Games, a company owned by Microsoft, stated that the Xbox “is not mandated” to use genAI.
SAG-AFTRA, a performer union, went on strike for nearly a year until June 12 in an effort to improve working conditions and AI rights. On that day, the union members reached a provisional deal that contained “AI guardrails” and were told to resume work under the Interactive Media deal.
Motorica appears to want to steer clear of comparable unfavorable attention as much as possible. As stated in the company’s announcement, “Motorica’s team is committed to augmenting creativity, not automating it away,” according to the Artist. Instead of taking the place of human ingenuity, Motorica’s tools free up creative teams to concentrate on performance, narrative, and style by removing tedious tasks like character locomotion and filler cycles.