Cheehoo’s $10M Leap—How AI is Rewriting Hollywood’s Animation Playbook

_Los Angeles, CA_—Cheehoo, the AI animation startup born from the studio behind _The Lego Movie_, today announced a $10 million Series A funding round led by Greycroft, with participation from Point72 Ventures, Basis Set, and others. The fresh capital fuels its mission to dismantle Hollywood’s most stubborn bottleneck: the glacial, multi-million-dollar animation pipeline.

From Lego Blocks to AI Models: A Hollywood-Backed Disruption

Spun out of Rideback—the production powerhouse behind franchises like The Lego Movie and Sherlock Holmes—Cheehoo’s founding team reads like a Hollywood-meets-Silicon-Valley crossover:

• Michael LoFaso & Jonathan Eirich (Rideback co-CEOs)

• Dan Lin (Rideback founder, producer of Avatar: The Last Airbender)

• Chris deFaria (ex-DreamWorks Animation president)

• Hubert Tsai & Wei-Cheng Kuo (former Apple AI researchers)

“Animation isn’t just about art—it’s about iteration. But today’s tools force creators to choose between speed and quality,” said LoFaso. “We’re giving them both.”

The AI Toolbox: Toggling Between Automation and Control

Cheehoo’s platform targets three pain points in traditional workflows:

1. Weeks of revisions condensed to real-time tweaks (e.g., altering a character’s motion or lighting without re-rendering entire scenes).

2. Automated grunt work: Data tagging, file conversions, and format fixes handled by AI.

3. Hybrid AI Engine: Proprietary models for asset generation paired with third-party tools like OpenAI (scene composition) and Runway (post-production effects).

The system plugs into industry staples like Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine, allowing artists to toggle AI assistance on/off. For example, a director could prompt Cheehoo to generate five alternate storyboard styles using AI, then manually refine the chosen version.

Democratizing Blockbuster-Grade Animation

Greycroft’s Brentt Baltimore sees Cheehoo as a “gateway drug” for indie creators. “Imagine a solo filmmaker prototyping a Spider-Verse-style sequence on a laptop,” he said. The startup is already testing with undisclosed studios and IP holders, though LoFaso emphasizes Cheehoo isn’t replacing artists: “We’re the co-pilot, not the autopilot.”

The Competitive Edge: Why Cheehoo Stands Out

While rivals like Cartwheel (Accel-backed) and Cinamon (Naver’s AI toolkit) focus on niche tasks, Cheehoo’s end-to-end approach targets Hollywood’s full pipeline. Its secret sauce?

• Rideback’s studio DNA: Direct access to animators’ pain points.

• AI flexibility: Users can swap third-party models (e.g., replacing OpenAI with Anthropic).

• Creative veto power: Artists override AI outputs at any stage.

Roadmap: From Studio Backlots to TikTok Creators

Cheehoo’s $10M will expand R&D for two 2024 launches:

1. Enterprise Tier: Custom AI pipelines for major studios.

2. Consumer App: A simplified version targeting YouTubers, indie game devs, and TikTok creators—complete with TikTok/Instagram export presets.

The Bottom Line

As AI reshapes filmmaking, Cheehoo bets that Hollywood’s auteurs will embrace tools that amplify—not replace—their vision. “The best stories aren’t made by algorithms,” said deFaria. “But the right algorithm might just help the next Spider-Verse get made faster, cheaper, and by more people than ever.”

For animators, the message is clear: The future isn’t just automated. It’s collaborative.