ANCHOR NODE Raises Seed Funding for AI Gaming Solutions

ANCHOR NODE Raises Seed Funding for AI Gaming Solutions

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Korean AI gaming solution developer and game developer ANCHOR NODE has successfully raised seed funding from FuturePlay.

CEO Wonjae Ho, with a 25-year history in game development at companies such as Nexon and Neowiz, founded ANCHOR NODE in July 2023. He is supported by a team of approximately 10 experienced game developers, who have collaborated for 10-20 years.

The AI gaming solution industry, currently projected to have a compound annual growth rate of over 80% (CAGR), is attracting numerous companies. However, there are challenges in directly applying large-scale LLMs to gaming. While major domestic and international game developers focus on AI solutions for their own content, ANCHOR NODE’s goal is to provide directly applicable solutions for global small and medium-sized game developers, who account for about 25% of worldwide game sales. This initiative aims to contribute to the qualitative and quantitative growth of games.

ANCHOR NODE is set to launch its AI Gaming Image Solution this year. This service will enable the production of game-specific images, maintaining the original creator’s tone and manner, a task challenging for existing AI image solutions.

All images for ANCHOR NODE’s ‘Bread Bear‘, a restaurant management game released globally in December last year, and ‘Angel Coda’, scheduled for release in the first half of this year, were created using the company’s AI image solution. These successful development cases have attracted partnership inquiries from various domestic and international companies.

In the next three years, ANCHOR NODE plans to offer a range of B2B services globally, including AI gaming image solutions, NPC AI solutions (to maximize character user experience), AI Simulator for Level Optimizer (for level testing across genres), and game revenue optimization solutions (Equilibrium). With the vision of ‘Connect, Share & Accumulate!’, the company aims to build an ecosystem that benefits creators and users worldwide.

Hyungsoo Park, chief analyst at FuturePlay, who led the investment, commented, “Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize all fields, but its success depends on how industry experts apply it. With its 20-year background in the Korean gaming industry, we anticipate ANCHOR NODE will grow into a global company, providing a variety of AI solutions in the gaming sector.”

CEO Wonjae Ho remarked, “It’s a significant challenge to start a business with a team of 10 expert developers, each with over 20 years of experience, especially in these difficult times. We plan to leverage our expertise from developing a range of game genres, including MMORPG, Sports Simulation, FPS, and TCG, to share AI solutions and create games that many will enjoy.”

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