San Francisco, CA, March 27th, 2026 – Sans Strings Studio, the groundbreaking creative studio blending digital character performance and technology to build next-gen transmedia IP, announce today that it has raised a $5.5 million Seed round. The round was led by international venture firm Red River West, with participation from a16z speedrun, Sisu Game Ventures, Kima Ventures, and angels including Brendan Iribe (Co-Founder, Oculus), Dr. Fei-Fei Li (Stanford; CEO, World Labs), Scott Belsky (A24), Chris Prynoski (CEO, Titmouse), Karl Jacobs (Gaming Creator), and Nicolo Laurent (ex CEO, Riot Games).
The Seed Round happens just six months after Sans Strings’ $1M pre-seed round, and after graduating from the prestigious a16z speedrun program — one of 58 selected from 14,000 global applicants.
“We’ve known Sebastien since his Allegorithmic days and have always regarded him as an exceptional founder. Yet, what truly won us over was how Sebastien and Ryan’s breakthrough technology reintroduces the spontaneity of live performance into animation. It doesn’t just compress production time greatly; it empowers artists with real-time control and creative freedom. This unique advantage is already evident in the exceptional commercial traction they are seeing with tier-one studios.” – Antoine Boulin, Founding Partner, Red River West
“In today’s age, storytelling is being reinvented by new technologies yet having great taste has never been more important. Sebastien and Ryan are a unique cofounder duo, being highly technical yet creatives at heart with deep respect for craft. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with them as they build a new type of storytelling studio” – Jonathan Lai, GP, a16z speedrun
The funding comes just months after the studio’s viral game reveal, Felt That: Boxing, which garnered immediate industry and audience attention. In less than a year, Sans Strings Studio has evolved from a bold creative experiment to a best-in-class storytelling engine backed by top investors, fueled by fan excitement, and actively shaping beloved global franchises.
At the center of the studio’s pipeline is F.E.L.T. (Fuzz-E Logic Toolset), Sans Strings’ system for translating artist performance into expressive, production-ready characters and worlds in real time — enabling rapid content creation across games, social formats, and linear content such as animated series and feature films.
Sans Strings Studio will use the new capital to expand its F.E.L.T. platform, grow its team across creative, production, and engineering, and accelerate development across its slate, including Felt That: Boxing and additional transmedia projects in partnership with leading creators and IP holders.
“The industry is at a turning point, and we’re building a studio that meets this moment creatively, technically, and culturally,” said Sebastien Deguy, Co-Founder and CEO. “We’ve built a unique platform to launch next-gen, transmedia IP and redefine how stories are made, distributed to connect with their audience, and monetized across formats.”
Co-founded by Sebastien Deguy (Academy Award & Emmy recipient, former VP at Adobe, founder of Allegorithmic, the makers of Substance) and Ryan Corniel, Sans Strings Studio is headquartered in San Francisco. With a growing team of technologists, performers, and creative visionaries including Andrew Sommerville (COO), Vik Sohal (CTO), Annabelle Penloup (Strategic Advisor), Bekah Hamilton (Executive Producer), Colin Benoit (Executive Director, Creative Technology), and Nathanial Tapley & Joel Veitch (ECDs). The studio now operates out of its San Francisco Headquarters and is actively hiring across key creative, production, and engineering roles.
Sans Strings Studio is a first-of-its-kind tech-augmented transmedia studio. Led by industry veterans, we use real-time technology to co-produce, develop and execute original IP seamlessly across Interactive, Linear, and Live formats.