OpenAI Ventures into New Creative Horizons with Acquisition of Global Illumination, Inc.
- ByStartupStory | August 17, 2023
OpenAI is continuing its strategic moves, having recently acquired Global Illumination, Inc. This New York City-based startup, established in 2021 by former Facebook and Instagram employees Thomas Dimson, Taylor Gordon, and Joey Flynn, who held roles in engineering and product design at Meta companies, has become part of OpenAI’s portfolio.
In an official blog post, “Global Illumination is a company that has been leveraging AI to build creative tools, infrastructure, and digital experiences,” writes OpenAI in the blog post announcing the acquisition, adding that the Global Illumination, Inc. team “has also made significant contributions at YouTube, Google, Pixar, Riot Games, and other notable companies.”
OpenAI specified that the newly integrated talent from Global Illumination would be instrumental in enhancing core products, including ChatGPT. However, Global Illumination’s prior work has been primarily related to visual-oriented products and services. This suggests that OpenAI might be pursuing multimedia enhancements for ChatGPT or expanding its Dall-E 2 image generation service. Another possibility is the development of a video-generation product, potentially in competition with New York City startup Runway and its Gen-2 text-to-video generator.
Global Illumination’s recent endeavor involved the creation of a web-based massive multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) named “Biomes.” Notably, the term “global illumination” has been integral to computer graphics for years, referring to algorithms that generate realistic lighting effects on 3D objects. The concept traces back to a 1986 algorithm developed by James “Jim” Kajiya, a researcher from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Thomas Dimson, serving as the CEO of Global Illumination, disclosed in an article for a16z’s publication “Future” that he led the team responsible for devising Instagram’s personalized content ranking and recommendation engine, a system that replaced the platform’s default reverse chronological feed.
Exact details of the acquisition deal have not been publicly disclosed by either OpenAI or Global Illumination. VentureBeat has initiated communication with both entities to gather additional information and will provide updates as the situation progresses
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