Dimension Studio Investment to “Fuel International Growth”

Real-time virtual production firm Dimension Studio, known for its work on the likes of Sony Pictures’ Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Apple TV+ miniseries Masters of the Air, and the upcoming Peacock gladiator series Those About to Die (Peacock), has received a major investment from U.S. private equity firm Growth Catalyst Partners (GCP).

The companies didn’t disclose financial terms beyond describing the capital injection as a “multi-million-pound investment,” saying it would “fuel Dimension’s international growth, expanding production capabilities in major markets, including the U.K., U.S., and Europe.”

Dimension also touted that the funding would “accelerate” Dimension’s end-to-end” its virtual production pipelines, technology advancements, as well as education and training “as Dimension continues to embrace the future of real-time and artificial intelligence technologies.”

For GCP, “the investment provides an exciting platform to diversify into the next generation of film and entertainment production, with Dimension’s work in virtual production, visualization, and virtual humans already widely adopted by major film, broadcast, sports, music, and location-based entertainment productions,” the partners said. GCP’s investment portfolio also includes the likes of digital studio and consultancy Squint/Opera, design and brand strategy firm ICrave, and “design and innovation studio” Journey.

In late April, VFX giant DNEG, which has won Oscars for the likes of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and has also worked on The Last of Us and season 4 of Stranger Things, launched a new division, dubbed DNEG 360, which is operated by Dimension.

Dimension, which has 240 employees, will in the coming weeks officially open a major West London virtual production studio complex in collaboration with DNEG 360 and Sunbelt Rentals. “The studio features one of Europe’s largest LED volumes, alongside performance, vehicle, and volumetric capture stages,” according to the company.

“The rapid acceleration and convergence of real-time, volumetric, and AI technologies increasingly present unparalleled creative opportunities for filmmakers and storytellers, bringing with it game-changing production approaches, new efficiencies, and greater quality,” said Simon Windsor, co-founder and co-CEO of Dimension. “Dimension has built one of the largest and most experienced virtual production teams and, as demand for our services continues to grow, we are thrilled to partner with the exceptional team at GCP to invest in our exciting roadmap and the expansion of our U.K. and global production capabilities.”

Said James O’Callaghan, managing director at GCP: “Dimension is leading the next generation of content creation and filmmaking. It’s grown from a small U.K. studio to a global production provider that has become indispensable to major Hollywood studios and new forms of entertainment experiences, offering efficient pipelines and technologies that deliver incredible results.”