Photo by Matthias Niessner Matthias Niessner is one of the world’s foremost researchers in artificial intelligence and 3D modeling. He’s taken a leave of absence from his visual computing and AI lab at the Technical University of Munich to co-found SpAItial. The company’s development team is on a mission to change the way users build and interact with 3D environments. They’re in hot pursuit of what Niessner dubs the ‘Holy Grail’ – automatic generation of photorealistic models.
SpAItial was started with a pretty lofty vision. It allows anyone, including kids, to design their own video games in minutes, which is their tagline along with the goal to revolutionize the 3D modeling experience. Niessner envisions a future in which a ten-year-old child could simply type in a text prompt. In as little as ten minutes, they can design their own interactive game world. This hugely ambitious goal is a meaningful jump forward in the 3D modeling and game development space.
To bring this vision to life, Niessner’s put together an all-star technical team. Ricardo Martin-Brualla, one of the original developers of Google’s 3D teleconferencing platform, now called Beam, is on SpAItial’s team. David Novotny has been with the team. He is a six-year veteran of Meta, where he was foundational in driving the text-to-3D asset generation initiative. Their expertise together puts SpAItial at the cutting edge of technological innovation when it comes to 3D modeling.
Last week, SpAItial shared a short preview video to introduce some of the things it’s able to do. The video demonstrated how a simple text prompt could generate an intricate 3D room, underscoring the company’s potential to disrupt the industry. Niessner believes that by licensing their foundation model to developers, SpAItial can facilitate the creation of specialized applications while navigating existing challenges in the space.
Niessner’s main priority right now is finding partners who are willing to play ball with the outputs from those earlier models, instead of holding out for the best quality. He stated, “We want to at least work with a few partners,” emphasizing the importance of collaboration in their developmental process. This strategic approach aims to ensure that SpAItial’s technology meets varying user needs while paving the way for future advancements.
According to rumor, SpAItial also just closed a significant seed round. According to their public statements, this funding would be as high as $13 million, though they have not shared the actual dollar figure. This funding will be incredibly important for the company. It will allow them to invest in cutting-edge computational resources and attract top talent necessary to achieve their ambitious goals. In particular, Niessner explained that the current competition in creating photorealistic 3D environments is low. This uncertainty has resulted in an open market ripe for the picking.
Niessner’s vision goes way further than just creating a 3D world. He iterated on a wish for these virtual worlds to act dynamically and responsively. “I don’t just want to have a 3D world. I want this world to behave like the real world,” he remarked. Emphasizing Interactivity An acute focus on interactivity is central to SpAItial’s differentiation from other market solutions.
Even with such lofty plans, Niessner knows the limits of growth. He clarified that “the team is not going to grow to hundreds of people right away. It’s just not happening, and we don’t need that.” This deliberate approach is a good indication of their desire to keep quality high while allowing for innovation as SpAItial continues to expand and improve their products.
As SpAItial continues to iterate, it will have to contend with a big unknown — future market demand for photorealistic 3D environments. No one has concretely pinpointed this demand. This uncertainty makes for thrilling opportunities to explore and experiment with new things within the evolving industry. The company’s success will hinge on its ability to adapt and respond to emerging trends while delivering on its promise of revolutionizing 3D space creation.
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