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NaturalMotion Gets Funding from Benchmark Capital Europe

NaturalMotion Ltd. announced that it has closed a major financing round with Benchmark Capital Europe, the top-tier venture capitalist behind eBay, Betfair, Setanta and bebo.com. The additional capital will help NaturalMotion extend its lead in the development of innovative and interactive 3D entertainment technologies such as euphoria, a groundbreaking motion synthesis technology for next-generation videogame consoles.

Raising additional capital was a matter of choice, not necessity, and had a lot to do with the partner, said Torsten Reil, ceo of NaturalMotion. We have had a great relationship with Benchmark since well before the financing and truly share their vision of building pioneering, world-class technology companies.

NaturalMotion is one of those companies that does things others thought were impossible, added Mark Evans, partner at Benchmark Capital Europe. Their client roster is hugely impressive, and their technology has to be seen to be believed. We are committed to helping NaturalMotion grow for the long term, as we do with all other companies we invest in.

NaturalMotion Ltd. (www.naturalmotion.com) is the first company to create 3D character animation software based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS), a technology that utilizes Adaptive Behaviors and artificial intelligence to simulate the human-nervous system. Based on Oxford University research on the control of body movements, NaturalMotions euphoria synthesizes 3D character animation in realtime on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360TM and PC, thus creating unique game moments and previously unachievable interactivity. NaturalMotions other DMS product, endorphin, creates off-line animation significantly faster than traditional techniques and is widely used in the film and games industries, with customers such as The Mill, Capcom, Namco and Konami.

Benchmark Capital (www.benchmark.com) is a leading international venture capital firm, focused on helping talented entrepreneurs build great technology companies that are focused on long-term growth. Managing more than $3 billion in committed venture capital, Benchmarks partners take an active, team-oriented approach to venture investing.

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Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.