[UKPRwire, Fri Jul 03 2009] Artificial Technology GmbH is continuing steadily on its growth path. In its second year, the young company is laying the foundations for its long-term future and has just concluded the second round of financing, with Munich-based Falk Strascheg Holding GmbH as the new lead investor. And, impressed by the work of the Artificial Technology development team, Clusterfonds Innovation GmbH & Co. KG joins the group of financiers.
“We are exceedingly happy about the commitment of our old and new investors,” states Frank Gwosdz, Artificial Technology CEO and co-founder. Commenting on the outcome of the financing round, Gwosdz believes “the decision of our investors is an affirmation of our previous strategy. And we feel good about having a concept and product that is convincing even in times of economic insecurity.“
With the conclusion of second round financing, the group of investors is augmented by a new member, Clusterfonds Innovation GmbH & Co. KG. The companies High-Tech Gründerfonds GmbH & Co. KG, Technologie Seed-Beteiligungsfonds Bayern GmbH & Co. KG and Falk Strascheg Holding GmbH have supported the Artificial team since its business launch and remain loyal partners. Falk Strascheg has increased its share to become the new lead investor. The funds will be used for continuing product development and the creation of additional distribution channels.
Franz Gwosdz, Serein Pfeiffer and Daniel Renner founded Artificial Technology driven by their vision of a more effective and efficient implementation of emotional and artificial intelligence in video games. 2008 saw the market launch of their first product, EKI One. Shortly thereafter, the trio introduced the follow-up version EKI 1.5 at the 2009 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Currently the company, based in Puchheim near Munich, is busy working on further refinements of the proprietary technology. The new version 2.0 will be presented at Germany’s biggest games industry show, GamesCom, held in Cologne, August 19–22.
Information
Additional information about EKI One middleware and Artificial Technology GmbH is available online at www.artificial-technology.com and www.ekione.com.
About Artificial Technology GmbH
Artificial Technology GmbH, established in 2007, is the maker of EKI One Middleware (emotional & artificial intelligence), an innovative solution for game developers to create characters with lifelike emotional behavior. The base technology incorporates pathfinding, cognitive and decision-making systems. The intuitive graphical user interface and personal customer support guarantee seamless integration into existing software environments. In 2008, company founders Frank Gwosdz, Serein Pfeiffer and Daniel Renner won the financial backing of High-Tech-Gründerfonds Management GmbH, Bayern Kapital GmbH and Falk Strascheg Holding GmbH. After the second round of financing in 2009, Clusterfonds Innovation GmbH & Co. KG joined the ranks of the investors. Falk Strascheg Holding has since become the lead investor.
