CGHero Raises $1.1 Million Led by Fuel Ventures

**MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, 9th April 2020 **- CGHero, a platform for outsourcing 3D CGI production, providing on-demand access to the world"„¢s top artists and studios, announces a $1.1m seed investment led by Fuel Ventures with participation from Tim Dempsey (Epiphany Capital), Cumron Ashtiani, and private Angel investors.

The investment will help the company rapidly grow its sales and marketing efforts, make key appointments, further streamline the production of 3D computer-generated content, and accelerate product development by providing essential tools to artists and clients using the platform. The funding will also drive further international expansion.

CGHero, which was founded in 2016, globally sources the very best talent, matched to clients' unique project specifications, to collaborate on the production of blockbuster visuals for creative projects. The funding builds on an exceptional start for the company which, since establishing, has supported the production of over 400 media and entertainment projects, producing thousands of cutting-edge computer graphics on-demand. Projects include next-generation games, autonomous driving and simulation, and the mass digitization of retail products to 3D content ready for augmented reality.

The company's co-founder and CEO, Jonathan Lloyd, explains the challenges of creative production today: "The demand for increasingly more realistic and content-rich productions, especially in games and film projects, has put a huge strain on resourcing. Vast armies of skilled talent are required to produce worlds of immersive content. Finding and retaining that talent has become a huge challenge."

Lloyd explains how CGHero is tackling this problem head-on: "We are changing the way projects are made, displacing the studio, and empowering remote teams of artists to come together to build amazing content wherever they are in the world.

This latest investment takes us through to the next stage of growth for the company, allowing us to expand the team and platform capabilities to support our growing client and artist base."

Oliver Hammond, Fuel Ventures, commented: "We're incredibly excited about our investment into CGHero, which is our first investment into the Manchester tech ecosystem. Fuel is very bullish about the future of distributed work, and we think that specialist platforms like CGHero will lead the charge into the next generation of professional marketplaces and workspaces, allowing talented individuals from all over the globe to work with some of the worlds largest companies. COVID 19 has taught us that working as distributed teams is achievable, platforms like CGHero will now make sure that companies have access to the world's best talent."

Tim Dempsey, Director at Epiphany Capital, said "It's been great to work with Jonathan and the team to bring this round together. CGHero fits so well with Fuel's thesis, and the chemistry has been great from the start. This round is another example of London VCs taking a real interest in Northern tech."

Cumron Ashtiani, said "In a world where the demand for new creative content is growing exponentially, the CGHero proposition presented an exciting opportunity to connect a multitude of industries with a truly global network of artists and creatives."

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

For more information, please contact:

press@cghero.com

+44 (0) 161 408 1980

About CGHero

Founded in 2016, CGHero connects individuals and businesses with talented digital artists from around the world to collaborate on the production of blockbuster visuals for creative projects.

About Fuel Ventures

Fuel Ventures invests in ambitious early and growth-stage technology companies that are globally scalable marketplaces, platforms, and software (SaaS). Fuel brings together businesses under one roof to provide "hands-on support" to create a "collaborative ecosystem".

About Epiphany Capital

Epiphany Capital works with entrepreneurs. The company is headed by Tim Dempsey who has advised on and invested in over 40 investment deals at Seed, Series A, and growth stages and goes on to invest in each company himself.

About Cumron Ashtiani

Cumron Ashtaini is an award-winning creative entrepreneur and investor who has been listed in both the UK top 100 people in video games and also in the top 100 in digital media for his work on 3 blockbuster Marvel movies, over 30 video games, and numerous digital innovation projects.