CG animation production company Mindshow has raised an additional $10M in funding and has announced Sharon Bordas as its new President along with other new executive hires.
SWaN & Legend Venture Partners leads the list of investors contributing to Mindshow’s investment in the company’s proprietary CG animation technology that merges cutting edge video game technology, visual effects and machine learning. The money will also allow the company to expand its content pipeline and bring animation projects to market much more quickly. Sugar23, the emerging management production and creative platform founded in 2017 by Academy Award®-winning manager-producer Michael Sugar, also participated in the fundraising that has allowed Mindshow to raise over $25M in total.
Mindshow CEO Gil Baron also announced the promotion of Sharon Bordas from Head of Studio to President of Mindshow, and several key hires including Jason Reisig as Global Director of Animation, Michael McGahey as Head of Creative Development and Grace Buehler as Chief of Staff.
Bordas brings more than 20 years experience working in the entertainment industry as a writer, producer, executive and entrepreneur. Bordas is a long time champion of female directors and diversity in content, and was most recently VP of Programming for Scripted Series at Lifetime Television, and before that a Founder/EVP at Mar Vista Entertainment, a VC backed film and television studio.
In a statement about the changes, Baron said, “Over the last year with Sharon at the helm we’ve been building a world class content team and using our tech to bring more fun, creativity and mind-melting amazingness to the 3D animation space. Working with world class partners to help define the future and shape what content gets made is a dream come true.”
Mindshow’s mind-bending software allows the company to produce high-quality CG content at an industry shattering pace. As evidence of Mindshow’s speed without sacrificing quality, their most recent project was a 30-episode season for Mattel’s Enchantimals© toy line. The company delivered final content in just four months, all while working remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic. And by all reports, they had a fantastic time along the way.
“We are thrilled at what the team at Mindshow has accomplished over the past year, even more so in light of the challenges 2020 brought to all of us,” said Fred Schaufeld, the SWaN & Legend co-founder who is also an owner of the Washington Capitals, Washington Nationals and Washington Wizards. “We couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come in this next chapter of the company’s growth.”
