HBO and Discovery invest in OTOY to create universal publishing platform for TV, movies and original holographic content
Partnership of industry leaders will pioneer next-generation original content, and develop open standards for holographic rendering and streaming across TV, Web, Mobile and AR/VR
LOS ANGELES, Calif.(19 Apr 2016)
OTOY Inc. today announced that Home Box Office, Inc. and Discovery Communications took an equity stake in the company to forge the development of next-generation media and content publishing platforms and services. The investment will fuel development and distribution of original holographic content, enabling HBO and Discovery to deliver new entertainment experiences to consumers across TV, mobile, web, social and emerging wearable technologies such as virtual and augmented reality. OTOY is currently working with Jon Stewart on the development of upcoming content for HBO built using this platform.
“OTOY is unbelievable! It’s a limitless mind blowing creative platform,” said Jon Stewart. “My dream is to someday understand how they did it!!!”
“HBO prides itself on being at the forefront of entertainment, both in the exceptional content we produce, and in the ways we bring that content to consumers,” said Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming. “OTOY has a roadmap for the future of entertainment and technology. Their creativity and drive perfectly aligns with HBO’s. We couldn’t be more excited to invest in OTOY and to worktogether on original content and amazing experiences for years to come.”
“OTOY technology is a massive breakthrough and we look forward to seeing it take VR and AR experiences, including Discovery VR, to a whole new level,” said Paul Guyardo, Chief CommercialOfficer at Discovery Communications.
“The future of media and entertainment is not going to be constrained by a screen, nor consumed through monolithic apps or platforms,” said Jules Urbach, Founder and CEO, OTOY. “OTOY’s mission is to make holographic and immersive content a mass market proposition for consumers, artists and publishers alike. A key part of this endeavor is unifying production and delivery of content across all possible endpoints, from HTML5, to TV and social, to wearables. With HBO and Discovery as strategic investors and content publishing partners, we couldn’t be more excited to work together to map out the futureof entertainment.”
OTOY’s advisory board includes Dr. Eric Schmidt (executive chairman of Google's new parent company, Alphabet), Samuel J. Palmisano (former chairman, CEO and president of IBM), Ariel Emanuel (co-CEO, WME | IMG) and noted economist George Gilder. Major shareholders include Autodesk and Yuri Milner.
To learn more about OTOY’s technology or about their partnership with HBO and Discovery, visit www.otoy.com.
About OTOY Inc.
OTOY Inc. is the definitive cloud graphics company, pioneering technology that is redefining content creation and delivery for media and entertainment organizations around the world. OTOY’s Academy Award-winning technology is used by leading visual effects studios, artists, animators, designers, architects, and engineers, providing unprecedented creative freedom, new levels of realism, and new economics in content creation and distribution powered by the cloud. For more information, visit www.otoy.com.