About Aquifer
Aquifer is a Media & Entertainment company based in Austin (United States) founded in 2019 by Chen Zhang and Matt Udvari, and was acquired by Rapport in October 2025. Mobile-based platform for AI-powered facial animation is provided. Aquifer has raised $10.45 million across 5 funding rounds from investors including Techstars, Rapport and LDV Capital. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Chen Zhang. Aquifer offers products and services including Aquifer Platform, Animate from Text, and Automatic Lip Sync. Its focus areas include Tech for Film & TV, Filmed Entertainment, Post-Production and Animation. Its competitors include DeepMotion, Nimble Collective and Reallusion; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Founded in 2019 and based in Austin, United States, Aquifer operates in the animation technology sector. A cloud and AI-powered platform is offered for capturing facial motion via mobile hardware, with an interface suited for non-technical users. Facial auto-rigging tools are included, along with offline capture and export of 3D animation files for integration into third-party software.
- Headquarters Austin, United States
- Founders Chen Zhang, Matt Udvari
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Email••••••••
- Website aquifermotion.com
- Social LinkedIn X Instagram
- Acquired by Rapport (Oct 2025)
Products & Services of Aquifer
Aquifer offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Aquifer Platform, Animate from Text, and Automatic Lip Sync.
AI tool for creating and exporting animated videos for brands.
Generates animations by describing character actions quickly.
Syncs voiceovers with character movements seamlessly.
Funding Insights of Aquifer
Aquifer has successfully raised a total of $10.45M across 5 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Seed round of $3 million completed in October 2022. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $10.45M
- Total Rounds 5
- Last Round Seed — $3M
- First Round $120,000
(Dec 2019)
- Investors Count 5
All 5 funding rounds of Aquifer with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2022 | $3M | Seed | – | – | – |
| Dec 2021 | $2M | Seed | – | LDV Capital | |
| Aug 2021 | $4M | Seed | – | – | – |
| Oct 2020 | $1.33M | Seed | – | – | – |
| Dec 2019 | $120,000 | Seed | – | Techstars | – |
6 investors in total: 6 institutional.
Investors in Aquifer
Aquifer has secured backing from 6 investors, including venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Techstars, Rapport and LDV Capital.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
US focused VC firm | ldv.co | New York, United States | ||
Venture capital fund focused on multiple sectors | wedbushventures.com | Santa Monica, United States | ||
Startups are accelerated globally without sector restrictions through structured programs. | 2006 | techstars.com | New York, United States | |
Investing in Deep Tech and emerging technologies for 12 years. | boost.vc | |||
Venture capital funding is provided to early-stage startups. | geekdomfund.com | |||
AI and cloud-based conversational solutions are provided for diverse industries. | 2019 | rapport.cloud | Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
Investor details for Aquifer
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People of Aquifer
7 people are tracked at Aquifer (3 in leadership, 4 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Chen Zhang | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Matt Udvari | Co-Founder & CTO | Leadership |
Matt U. | Co-Founder, CTO | Leadership |
Anora Albert | Technical Architecture | Team |
Austin Ruff | Senior Unity Engineer | Team |
Dean May | Lead Technical Artist | Team |
Stella Bartholet | Lead Product Designer | Team |
Complete people profiles for Aquifer
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Timeline of Aquifer
4 dated milestones of Aquifer across 6 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Aquifer is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $120K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Seed, of $3.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Rapport.
Competitors of Aquifer
Aquifer has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include DeepMotion, Nimble Collective and Reallusion.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| deepmotion.com | 2014 | San Mateo, United States | $2.2M | Digital characters for animation are created using deep learning technology. | ||
| nimblecollective.com | 2014 | California, United States | $18.7M | 36 | Online marketplace for graphic animators | |
| reallusion.com | 2000 | San Jose, United States | Software for 3D and facial animation development is provided. |
Detailed competitors of Aquifer
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Web traffic of Aquifer
The website of Aquifer (aquifermotion.com) receives about 3K visits a month.
- Monthly visits3K
▲ 88.2% vs previous month
Top companies in 3D Animation & Modelling
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Aquifer (3D Animation & Modelling) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unity is recognized as a leading real-time development platform. | 2004 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 893.5 M | USD 1.85 B | 7,102 | |
Mobile app and SDK for 3D avatar creation are provided. | 2011 | Los Angeles, California, United States | USD 276.46 M | 229 | ||
Platform offering AI-powered design tools | 2022 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 42 M |
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Related news about Aquifer
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Frequently Asked Questions about Aquifer
Aquifer was founded in 2019.
Aquifer is headquartered in Austin, United States. It is registered at Austin, Texas, United States.
Chen Zhang is the CEO of Aquifer, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Aquifer is a funded company, having raised a total of $10.45M across 5 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $120K, raised on Dec 2019.
Founded in 2019 and based in Austin, United States, Aquifer operates in the animation technology sector. A cloud and AI-powered platform is offered for capturing facial motion via mobile hardware, with an interface suited for non-technical users. Facial auto-rigging tools are included, along with offline capture and export of 3D animation files for integration into third-party software.
Aquifer's top competitors include Nimble Collective, Reallusion and DeepMotion.
Aquifer offers Aquifer Platform, Animate from Text, and Automatic Lip Sync.
Aquifer has 6 investors. Key investors include Techstars, Rapport, LDV Capital, Wedbush Ventures, and Boost VC.
Yes. Aquifer was acquired by Rapport in October 2025.