New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Simon Fuller's XIX Entertainment today announced the signing of a landmark partnership with Pulse Evolution Corporation (OTC:PFLX) in a deal that will allow the two companies to co-produce a series of entertainment properties and virtual reality experiences featuring Pulse's market leading digital human, or
Digital Life, technology. Fuller is joining the founders of Pulse Evolution, those responsible for the Tupac Shakur Hologram at Coachella and Virtual
Michael Jackson at the Billboard
Music Awards, in a transformative deal that will position Fuller to become the largest shareholder of Pulse. The new partners expect to introduce their all-new form of entertainment to global audiences in the next 18 months.
The partnership aims to combine the highest quality visual imagery, including hyper-realistic digital humans, with the most advanced and rapidly evolving display technologies, to create immersive content for stage, virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence. Fuller, noted by Billboard magazine as the most successful British music manager of all time, created the British TV hit Pop Idol, American Idol and the global Idol franchise, which has since garnered 6.5 billion viewers to become the world's most widely watched television franchise. He also manages, or has managed, such iconic acts as the Spice Girls, the late Amy Winehouse,
Annie Lennox, Carrie Underwood, Steven Tyler,
Kelly Clarkson, Lisa Marie Presley,
Victoria Beckham and
David Beckham.
Fuller now joins Pulse Evolution, a global leader in the creation of hyper-realistic digital humans, or
Digital Life, to produce entertainment properties and content intended to address the exploding market of immersive entertainment, with their first project being the digital development of ELVIS PRESLEY in preparation for a live show experience to showcase the genius of this most iconic performer at his absolute prime.
"I am very excited by all the incredible opportunities virtual reality and immersive technology will provide," said Fuller. "I am very focused on creating some extraordinary music-based properties that can enthrall and captivate audiences around the world. Entertainment will be at the forefront of showcasing this incredible new technology."
"We are thrilled to have
Simon and his team join us on this journey," said Pulse Evolution executive chairman John Textor. "Today is a giant step for VR and AR enthusiasts as one of the world's most accomplished producers, and his extended family of collaborating artists, begin to explore the medium of immersive entertainment. There are limitless possibilities for talent to engage their audiences in ways that we can now barely imagine."
Earlier this year, Pulse Evolution received investments from China's Original Force Computer Animation Co. Ltd and Shanghai U9 Game Co. Ltd., both of which are portfolio investments of Tencent Holding Limited, a $200 billion global conglomerate.
About XIX Entertainment
XIX Entertainment is a leading player in the global entertainment business, with a remarkable track record in hit format innovation and star talent representation. Owned by British entrepreneur
Simon Fuller, XIX Entertainment has interests in sport, drinks, fashion, music and film; though Fuller is best known for creating the American Idol TV show. He has an impressive pedigree in artist management having overseen the careers of
Annie Lennox, The Spice Girls, Lisa Marie Presley, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse,
Will Young and others as well as owning a partnership with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell that includes the iconic work of Bob Marley.
Fuller's long-term business partnership with
David Beckham includes the joint ownership of the MLS sports franchise in Miami, a global drinks business with Diageo and ventures with branded clothing firms H&M and Li & Fung. Elsewhere in sports, XIX Entertainment has made defining contributions to the careers of the U.K.'s No. 1 tennis player, Andy Murray, and
Formula 1 World
Champion Lewis Hamilton. The company has joint ownership of a new cycling venture with Tour De France winner and British Olympian Sir Bradley Wiggins. In fashion, XIX's interests include a joint venture with acclaimed fashion designer Roland Mouret, and a powerful partnership with
Victoria Beckham, whose award-winning and critically acclaimed ready-to-wear collections have become a multi-million dollar business. Please visit www.xixentertainment.com.
About Pulse Evolution Corporation
Pulse Evolution Corporation is a recognized pioneer and leading developer of hyper-realistic digital humans, computer-generated assets that appear to be human and perform in holographic live shows, virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence applications. The Company was founded by John Textor, Rene Eichenberger, Frank Patterson and Jim Berney; originally owners and senior executives of leading Hollywood visual effects company
Digital Domain. Mr. Textor is widely credited as the pioneer of the new industry of Holographic Entertainment, responsible for the 2012 appearance of Virtual Tupac Shakur at the Coachella Valley
Music Festival and, with his Pulse partners, the 2014 performance of Virtual
Michael Jackson at the 2014 Billboard
Music Awards, the latter generating more than 50 million television and YouTube views and 98 billion
Internet impressions worldwide.
The Company sees digital humans emerging as ubiquitous in society, culture and industry. They will not only perform for audiences on stage or in film, but they will also represent individual consumers as digital likeness avatars, in realistic and fantasy form, appearing and interacting on the consumer's behalf in electronic and mobile communication, social media, video game, virtual reality, and augmented reality. The Company's long-term goal is to be the 'face' of artificial intelligence, to provide a human form to interactive artificially intelligent computer beings.
Pulse is headquartered in Palm Beach, Florida, with production offices and digital studios in Los Angeles and Marin County, California. Please visit www.pulse.co.
