Creating animation is a slow, complex process, with steps like storyboarding, lighting, composition, and rendering needed just for one scene. If a director wants a new version of a scene, teams often must rework everything from scratch. A new startup, Cheehoo, aims to change that. Built by a team of Hollywood veterans and tech experts. Cheehoo is developing an AI-powered tool to make animated content faster and easier to produce.
Cheehoo grew out of production company Rideback, known for the Lego Movie franchise. Founders include Rideback’s co-CEOs Michael LoFaso and Jonathan Eirich, Rideback co-founder Dan Lin, former DreamWorks Animation president Chris deFaria, and ex-Apple AI researchers Yao-Hung Hubert Tsai and Wei-Cheng Kuo.
Speaking, LoFaso said Cheehoo wants to help studios and creators bring their animation ideas to life without the usual barriers.
“In Hollywood, creating animation was getting expensive and complex,” said LoFaso. “It became harder for creators to get their ideas made. We wanted to build a tool that fits into their workflows and makes their lives easier.”
How Cheehoo AI Tools Work
Cheehoo offers creators a way to prototype and iterate on animation much faster. Its tools handle tasks like data annotation, file conversions, and format consistency, speeding up the transition between animation stages.
The platform integrates with popular animation software like Maya and Unreal Engine. Creators can edit animations and instantly see changes without waiting for long rendering times. They can also choose when to turn AI features on or off, giving them full creative control.
Cheehoo has developed its own AI models to assist with character and asset creation. It also supports third-party models from companies like OpenAI and Runway, helping users with motion stylization, scene composition, and post-generation tasks.
Although Cheehoo hasn’t announced official launch partners yet, it says it’s already working with several studios, IP holders, and creators behind the scenes.
Strong Investor Backing
Cheehoo recently closed a $10 million funding round led by Greycroft. Other investors include Point72 Ventures, Basis Set, Headline Asia, Powerhouse Capital, Playground Productions, and Rideback itself.
Brentt Baltimore, principal at Greycroft, said Cheehoo fits the firm’s focus on investing in companies reshaping media. “Cheehoo has the right blend of Hollywood, media, and tech expertise,” Baltimore said. “They can lower animation production costs, giving independent filmmakers access to studio-quality workflows — all while letting creators maintain control.”
Baltimore noted that Cheehoo’s platform enables sophisticated animated films without needing an expensive studio setup, thanks to AI automation and flexible creative tools.
Currently, Cheehoo’s tools are targeted at enterprises and professional creators. However, LoFaso said the startup plans to develop more consumer-facing products in the future.
Expanding into consumer markets could help Cheehoo compete with other emerging startups like Cartwheel (backed by Accel) and Cinamon (supported by Naver), which are also working to simplify the animation process with AI.
As animation demands grow across film, television, and gaming, startups like Cheehoo could reshape how content gets made — making animation faster, cheaper, and more accessible to a new generation of storytellers.
