Weta FX Partners With TAICCA To Position Taiwan As AI Hub; Invest In Moonshine Studio

New Zealand-based visual effects powerhouse Weta FX is striking a strategic partnership with Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) to position Taiwan as an AI hub for Asia’s content industry.

The partnership involves investment into Taiwanese VFX house Moonshine Studio, founded by Chia Chi Lin. The Lord Of The Rings and Avatar VFX producer will also establish a joint venture platform to “identify exceptional Taiwanese work and help bring it to a technical level that can be on a par with international leading films and TV content”.

Weta and TAICCA will also work together through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop AI technology and train new talent to use the tech to advance the Taiwanese content industry.

The MOU was signed at the opening of TCCF today by Weta FX CEO Daniel Seah and TAICCA Chair Sue Wang. Also in attendance were Weta Chief Technology Officer Kimball Thurston, Head of Research Lab, Technology & Research, Andrew Moffat and VFX Supervisor Sheldon Stopsack.

Seah grew up in Taiwan before studying law in Hong Kong and Beijing and working as an investment banker in Hong Kong and London. Wang described the deal as “one of our sons coming home”.

Seah said: “We have witnessed the thriving growth of the Hollywood industry and could see the great opportunities of the VFX industry. I’m very grateful that TAICCA chair Sue Wang has chosen me to come back to Taiwan to make my own contribution.

“We know that the AI revolution is an indistinguishable driving force for the content industry,” he continued. “And looking forward, we know that to create, we need to combine technology with artistry.”

Referencing support that Weta has received from the New Zealand government, Seah also said that “Taiwan is the home of creative talent and a semiconductor industry, so we need to utilise these strengths and that’s why this cooperation project came into being.”