Vū Studio, the Tampa-based virtual production firm that is rapidly expanding across the country, tapped Orlando as its next location.
The company raised a $17 million seed round March 1, and since then has expanded to Nashville and Las Vegas. It has some familiarity with Orlando beyond its neighboring its home base in Tampa — several Orlando investors participated in its latest fundraising, including former investors in Orlando City Soccer and founders of fintech firm Stax.
"We are thrilled to expand the Vū network into Orlando which is a global destination for film and entertainment,” Tim Moore, Vū Technologies’ CEO, said in a statement.
Company officials stated it has tentative plans to open a 32,000-square-foot space in June. It finds itself in good company: Nearby Disney and Universal Studios are some of the region's largest producers of film and video content. Orlando has also made a name for itself in the simulation sector, along with gaming and augmented and virtual reality.
Orlando officials are hopeful Vū's presence will diversify the economy and create a positive fiscal impact on the region.
"Vū’s technologies will not only strengthen the region’s stance as a top filming destination but will also continue to align the production and innovation industries; there’s no better place to do that than Orlando,” Lindsey Sandrin, former director of the Orlando Film Commission, said in a statement. She will serve as the general manager of Vū Orlando. “When you add in the talent pipeline coming from the incredible schools and programs across the region, Orlando will be an unstoppable force in the future of this technology.”
Vū's studios feature volumes, fully enclosed spaces where motion capture and real-time compositing take place so that virtual environments for TV and film can be easily produced on camera. The technology, used in the popular Star Wars TV show "The Mandalorian," includes large LED walls used to generate virtual backgrounds as a replacement to traditional green screens.
The company was founded in 2020 and has a growing client roster including Mercedes-Benz, Jeep, World Wrestling Entertainment and the Tampa Bay Lightning. It plans to further expand across the country this year, adding New York, Chicago and Toledo, Ohio before the end of next year.
