Iconic AI, a London-based games studio founded in 2023 by John Lusty and Junaid Hussain, recently raised £3 million in funding to revolutionize AAA games through artificial intelligence. The company prides itself on being an AI-first studio and has brought together experienced individuals from industry giants such as DeepMind, Rockstar, Pixar, and Sony, with backgrounds in game development, creative production, and DeepTech R&D.
Iconic’s vision is to democratize game development and enable smaller teams to compete on par with industry giants by pioneering advanced AI applications in game development and gameplay. HodlCo led the funding round, with participation from FOV Ventures, Interface Capital, Deepwater Asset Management, scout funds from Sequoia and Atomico and angel investors who were former senior executives at DeepMind, OpenAI, Disney, Tencent and Microsoft.
Dave Haynes, founding partner at FOV Ventures, stated that, “With the right talent and culture, a new generation of studios like Iconic can benefit from decreasing costs and faster iteration times while having a blank slate to experiment with entirely new forms of gameplay afforded by generative AI.” Lusty, Iconic’s co-founder, said that their goal is to redefine game development and challenge the misconception that AI is here to replace, rather than enhance, human creativity. “Our belief is that by harnessing AI, smaller teams can become as efficient as, if not more efficient than, the largest video game developers, allowing them to create dozens of games,” he added. The funding will enable Iconic to create innovative and immersive games, while making work more interesting and secure for developers.
In conclusion, Iconic AI is disrupting the gaming industry with its AI-first approach to game development. Its funding round was led by HodlCo, and the company boasts experienced individuals from industry giants. By democratizing game development and utilizing AI, Iconic aims to create innovative games and make work more interesting and secure for developers.
