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One of Britain's biggest film technology firms has been valued at greater than $2 billion following an Abu Dhabi-backed capital raising that may enable the group to develop latest AI tools for film and game creation.
London-based DNEG Group, which has worked on visual effects for movies corresponding to , , and , has raised around $200 million from United Al Saqer Group, an Abu Dhabi investor backed by a member of the emirate's royal family.
The deal will provide DNEG with the financial support to expand its film production business beyond just providing visual effects support. The company has already worked on recent movies corresponding to .
DNEG, which was near listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2019 but halted work on the listing, may also develop AI tools that may enable other content producers in film, television, gaming and promoting to make use of advanced computer-generated imagery of their work. The tool will find a way to supply photorealistic content for a wide selection of applications.
The company has won seven Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, including for and . The group, which has offices within the UK, India, the US and Canada, was formed in 2014 through a merger of Double Negative and Prime Focus.
“We try to maneuver away from being a pure service company and as a substitute produce and own our own content… (and) develop the subsequent generation of technology tools that could be utilized by high-profile content creators,” said Namit Malhotra, chairman and managing director of DNEG.
DNEG is currently working on movies corresponding to The Last Man (starring Ryan Reynolds) and The Last Man. The company can also be producing an adaptation of the Indian epic The Last Man for a world audience.
The deal also shows Abu Dhabi's ambitions within the film industry, which this 12 months also co-financed RedBird IMI's £1.1 billion takeover of British TV producer All3Media.
Following the deal, DNEG will create a creative industries hub in Abu Dhabi and plans to construct a content production, storage and distribution industry within the Middle East.
“Abu Dhabi is keen to take a position in latest initiatives and latest technologies, however it also desires to create a spot where it’s seen not only as a financial investor, but as people who find themselves developing and constructing their very own industry,” said Malhotra.
Prabhu Narasimhan, Managing Partner of NaMa Capital, one among DNEG’s largest existing investors, will join the Board of Directors of DNEG Group and chair the AI technology business unit Brahma.
Narasimhan said the corporate would develop tools that might enable the creation of realistic CGI “by leveraging the facility of artificial intelligence to automate many processes… to inform a story faster, higher and cheaper.”
Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development, said the deal “accelerates technological advancements within the media and entertainment sector, but in addition underlines our commitment to fostering a strong content creation ecosystem.”
