Zibra AI
Zibra AI builds AI-powered volumetric compression and real-time rendering infrastructure (ZibraVDB) for VFX studios, game developers, and virtual production teams, enabling real-time playback of large OpenVDB effects in Unreal Engine and Houdini.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersSunnyvale, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Zibra AI does
Zibra AI is a Ukrainian-founded, Delaware-incorporated deep-tech company (founded 2021) that builds AI-powered volumetric compression and real-time rendering infrastructure for the visual effects, gaming, and virtual production industries. Its core product, ZibraVDB, applies neural network-based compression to OpenVDB volumetric data, achieving up to 100x compression ratios and enabling real-time decompression of large effect sequences (80GB+) directly in GPU memory. The proprietary custom renderer supports projected shadows, reflections, and illumination from up to 15 lights, and is delivered as plugins for Unreal Engine and Houdini (via SideFX Labs), with an SDK that exposes DirectX 12, Vulkan, and Metal pipelines for custom engine integration.
The product portfolio extends beyond ZibraVDB to include ZibraGDS (real-time geometry sequence rendering for Unreal Engine), the Unity-based Zibra Effects suite (Liquid, Smoke & Fire simulation plugins), and emerging R&D products: Zibra Texture Generation (PBR textures from text or image prompts), Zibra 3D Reconstruction (game-ready assets from video), and ZibraXYZ (physics AI training). Zibra AI monetizes through a freemium-to-subscription pricing model: a free Personal tier for users under $100K revenue/funding, a 7-day trial, a multi-year Studio contract tier for enterprise users over $100K, and a free 12-month student license. Distribution is multi-channel, anchored by Epic's Fab marketplace, SideFX Labs, the Unity Asset Store, and direct enterprise sales, with global reach subject to export restrictions covering Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Crimea, and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The company operates as part of the Roosh tech ecosystem and is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z lead investor in the August 2023 round), Hartmann Capital, MetaVision, New Renaissance Ventures, MA7 Ventures, SID Venture Partners, plus non-dilutive support from Epic MegaGrants, Google for Startups, and the NVIDIA Inception Program. Named enterprise customers include Dimension Studio (with public endorsement for ICVFX virtual production), DNEG, ILCA, and STRAY, alongside education users such as SCAD and Hochschule der Medien.
Zibra AI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Zibra AI
- Legal name
- ZIBRA AI INC.
- Website
- https://zibra.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Zibra AI builds AI-powered volumetric compression and real-time rendering infrastructure (ZibraVDB) for VFX studios, game developers, and virtual production teams, enabling real-time playback of large OpenVDB effects in Unreal Engine and Houdini.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Zibra AI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Real-Time Volumetric Rendering & Graphics Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Real-Time Rendering & Game Engine Tooling (MPAHADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- CG Simulation & FX (Fluids, Fire/Smoke, Destruction, Crowds) (MPAHABAF), Rendering, Graphics & Simulation Middleware (MPAFAFAB)
Keywords
Where Zibra AI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sunnyvale
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Zibra AI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- ZibraVDB Subscription (Personal): Free tier for individual users with revenue/funding under $100,000. Includes plugin for UE & Houdini, import of .zibravdb files, compression of VDB sequences, real-time decompression and volumetric rendering in UE. Floating license with 2 devices.
- ZibraVDB Subscription (Studio): Commercial subscription for users with revenue/funding over $100,000. Includes floating license, local license server, SDK access, custom features development, custom integration, and on-set support.
- Zibra Effects (Indie Plan): Annual subscription for indie game developers with revenue/budget under $100,000. Includes access on two devices, support services, and full feature set for VR and cross-platform (PC, Mobile, VR).
- Zibra Effects (Studio Plan): Enterprise subscription for studios with revenue/budget over $100,000 or using publisher support. Includes priority support and extended features.
- Student License: Free 12-month license for verified students in recognized educational institutions. Non-commercial educational use only.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free tier for individual creators under $100K revenue/funding |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Custom enterprise pricing for studios over $100K revenue |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free trial period for new users |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Zibra AI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Zibra AI develops and sells GPU-accelerated volumetric compression and real-time rendering software, with its flagship product ZibraVDB delivering up to 100x compression of OpenVDB sequences and enabling real-time rendering of volumetric effects (smoke, fog, fire, explosions) inside game engines such as Unreal Engine and Houdini. The portfolio also includes ZibraGDS for real-time geometry sequence rendering in Unreal Engine and the Zibra Effects suite (Liquid, Smoke & Fire) for Unity, all targeted at VFX studios, virtual production facilities, and game developers.
Product overview
Zibra AI offers a portfolio of AI-powered real-time graphics and simulation technologies. The core product is ZibraVDB, a volumetric compression and real-time rendering solution for VFX in virtual production and gaming, which integrates with Unreal Engine, Houdini, and other platforms. Complementing ZibraVDB is ZibraGDS for real-time geometry sequence rendering. The legacy Zibra Effects suite provides real-time liquid, smoke, and fire physics simulation for Unity. Under R&D, Zibra AI is developing Zibra Texture Generation (PBR texture creation from text/image) and Zibra 3D Reconstruction (3D objects from video), plus ZibraXYZ for physics AI training.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ZibraVDB: Real-time volumetric compression and rendering technology for VDB effects in Unreal Engine and Houdini.
- ZibraGDS
- Zibra Liquid
- Zibra Smoke & Fire
- ZibraXYZ
Products and services
- ZibraVDB A cross-platform GPU-based volumetric compression and real-time rendering technology for OpenVDB effects. Enables real-time rendering of large VDB sequences in Unreal Engine, Houdini, and other platforms with up to 100x compression rates while maintaining visual quality. Targeted at VFX studios, virtual production facilities, and game developers.
- ZibraGDS Real-time Geometry Sequence Rendering in Unreal Engine. Enables dynamic geometry sequences to be rendered in real-time, complementing the volumetric rendering capabilities of ZibraVDB for VFX and virtual production use cases.
- Zibra Effects (Liquid, Smoke & Fire) Cross-platform GPU-based physics simulation and rendering tools for Unity, including Zibra Liquid (real-time liquid physics simulation) and Zibra Smoke & Fire (real-time atmospheric effects such as smoke and fire). Available through the Unity Asset Store with Indie and Studio subscription plans.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 100x compression ratio for VDB sequences
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Zibra AI
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Zibra AI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
AI capability5 records
Feature6 records
Zibra AI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- SideFXcoreZibraVDB is integrated into SideFX Houdini as part of SideFX Labs program. Includes official documentation on SideFX website. Enables Houdini users to cache VDB sequences directly to ZibraVDB format in SOP and LOP contexts.
- Dimension StudiocoreDigital Environment Supervisor for Virtual Production publicly praised ZibraVDB and endorsed the technology. Dimension Studio uses ZibraVDB in production for in-camera VFX (ICVFX) shows.
- DNEGcoreMajor VFX studio with logo displayed as partner. DNEG is a leading visual effects and animation studio.
- Tencent GlobalcoreGlobal technology company and gaming industry leader with logo displayed as partner, indicating collaboration or integration in Tencent ecosystem.
- ILCAcoreAnimation and visual effects studio with logo displayed as partner, indicating use of Zibra AI technology in production.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Zibra AI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Foundry: Foundry develops Nuke, Mari, and Katana - industry-standard VFX and look-development tools used by the same studios Zibra AI targets (DNEG, Dimension). It is a broad incumbent selling a suite that overlaps with parts of Zibra's pipeline value proposition around volumetric and look-dev workflows.
- Weta FX: Weta FX operates large-scale VFX production with substantial proprietary real-time and volumetric rendering pipelines. Comparable to Zibra AI as a deep-tech VFX technology developer pushing real-time volumetrics for film, and a potential competitor and customer base given its size and pipeline ambitions.
- Autodesk: Autodesk's Media & Entertainment portfolio (Maya, 3ds Max, Flame) covers the broader VFX/animation pipeline that Zibra AI's tools plug into. As the dominant incumbent, Autodesk represents both an integration opportunity and a structural risk if it ships competing real-time volumetric features.
- SideFX: SideFX is the creator of Houdini and the originator of OpenVDB, the format Zibra AI compresses. Although a partner via SideFX Labs, SideFX is also the foundational incumbent whose native VDB/volumetric capabilities compete with Zibra's compression layer for studio budgets and pipeline ownership.
- Chaos: Chaos (V-Ray, Enscape, Corona) is a leading rendering vendor serving VFX, architecture, and product visualization. Comparable to Zibra AI as a rendering/visualization technology vendor with shared customers in VFX and virtual production studios.
Direct peers
- Boris FX: Boris FX develops Sapphire, Mocha Pro, and Continuum plugins used extensively in VFX and post-production. It is comparable to Zibra AI as a plugin/tooling vendor selling effects and compositing technology directly into Unreal, Houdini, and Nuke pipelines used by the same studio customers.
- OTOY: OTOY develops OctaneRender and a cloud-based real-time rendering platform used across VFX, virtual production, and gaming. Like Zibra AI, it competes on enabling real-time, GPU-accelerated high-fidelity rendering for studios and game developers, and targets similar ICVFX and virtual production workflows.
- Notch: Notch builds a real-time generative graphics engine widely used for live events, concerts, and immersive installations. It is directly comparable to Zibra AI's real-time volumetric rendering stack, with overlapping customers in virtual production and a similar emphasis on GPU-accelerated creative tooling.
Emerging players
- Embark Studios: Embark Studios builds proprietary real-time game engine technology and internal VFX tooling as part of an EA-affiliated game studio. It is comparable to Zibra AI as a real-time graphics innovator developing tools that push volumetric and dynamic effects inside game engines.
- Luma AI: Luma AI builds generative AI tools for 3D and video content (text-to-3D, video-to-3D), competing with Zibra AI's emerging 3D Reconstruction and Texture Generation R&D products. Both companies target AI-native creation workflows for games, VFX, and 3D content production.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Zibra AI social profiles
Digital presenceZibra AI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Zibra AI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Zibra AI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds10 records
Investors12 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Zibra AI M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Zibra AI
What does Zibra AI do?
Zibra AI develops and sells GPU-accelerated volumetric compression and real-time rendering software, with its flagship product ZibraVDB delivering up to 100x compression of OpenVDB sequences and enabling real-time rendering of volumetric effects (smoke, fog, fire, explosions) inside game engines such as Unreal Engine and Houdini. The portfolio also includes ZibraGDS for real-time geometry sequence rendering in Unreal Engine and the Zibra Effects suite (Liquid, Smoke & Fire) for Unity, all targeted at VFX studios, virtual production facilities, and game developers.
Is Zibra AI a public or private company?
Zibra AI is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Zibra AI founded?
Zibra AI was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Zibra AI based?
Zibra AI is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States, in the North America region.
How does Zibra AI make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. ZibraVDB Subscription (Personal) is the primary driver. The others are zibraVDB Subscription (Studio), zibra Effects (Indie Plan), zibra Effects (Studio Plan) and student License.
Who are Zibra AI's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Foundry, Weta FX, Autodesk, SideFX and Chaos. Direct peers are Boris FX, OTOY and Notch. Emerging players are Embark Studios and Luma AI.
Does Zibra AI have an API?
No public API is recorded for Zibra AI.
What industry is Zibra AI in?
Zibra AI's product category is Real-Time Volumetric Rendering & Graphics Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAHADAB, Real-Time Rendering & Game Engine Tooling, with a secondary code of MPAHABAF, CG Simulation & FX (Fluids, Fire/Smoke, Destruction, Crowds). Its NAICS code is 513210.