Dublin-based software firm Artomatix has closed a €2.1 million seed round with investors that include Enterprise Ireland.

Artomatix, which employs 17 people, was founded in March 2014 by Dr Eric Risser, Neal O’Gorman and Bart Kiss. It has developed artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help automate 3D art creation for game design.

The company’s technology, known as Example Based Content Creation, relies on Dr Risser’s expertise in machine learning, computer vision and graphics developed over 10 years of research.

The technology gives 3D artists the ability to speed up their workflow thanks to algorithms that can generate thousands of images based on the initial design and parameters that an artist provides.

The funding rounds involved Enterprise Ireland, the European Commission through its Horizon 2020 SME programme and several angel investors. The financing is to be largely used to hire more engineers and researchers as the company seeks to execute its product roadmap.

“We believe this funding will go a long way towards helping us realise our vision to enable 3D artists create immersive worlds faster than ever,” said Dr Risser, the firm’s chief technology officer.

The seed fund follows €300,000 of pre-seed funding obtained through NDRC, a Dublin-based early-stage investor, and various grants/awards including Nividia’s $100,000 Early Stage Challenge.