Vyking Ventures Invests in Animo Studios' Live Casino Character Technology

Vyking Ventures, the investment arm of gaming group Vyking, has expanded its portfolio by backing Animo Studios. The investment will support Animo's commercial launch of its live casino technology, which renders live dealers as custom digital characters in real-time while preserving their interaction with physical tables and cards.

Founded by Harley Fresh, a prominent Australian Twitch streamer with over 20 million social media followers, Animo Studios blends creator-led entertainment with live casino infrastructure. The technology allows dealers to interact with physical gaming equipment while their visual appearance is digitally transformed into custom characters in real time.

This approach aims to provide operators with more distinct, branded live gaming experiences in a crowded market. The hybrid model maintains game integrity and operational trust while overcoming the limitations of physical studios. Unlike traditional live studios, Animo enables the creation of bespoke, branded gaming environments utilizing an operator's own intellectual property and ambassadors.

Franz Gerhart, CEO of Vyking, highlighted the strategic significance of the investment. "Live gaming has become crowded with experiences that often look, feel and play in very similar ways. Animo is approaching the category from a completely different direction. Its technology gives operators the ability to transform their own brands, IP and ambassadors into exclusive live entertainment," Gerhart stated.