Rokoko: turning a student idea into a mocap revolution
Back in March 2014, three National Film School of Denmark alumni—Jakob Balslev, Matias Søndergaard, and Anders Klok—sparked an idea: what if motion capture could be as simple as suiting up? Inspired to democratize animation, they used Kickstarter to launch an IMU-based mocap suit, bypassing Hollywood-scale cameras and complexity.
They officially founded Rokoko in Copenhagen (with offices later in Athens and San Francisco).
Honored at the Creative Business Cup
A true testament to their creative innovation: Rokoko was a finalist of the Creative Business Cup Denmark in 2013, placing among top Danish startups in creative tech. By winning, Rokoko joined an elite group of creative businesses and gained exposure to international investors and networks—cementing their place as a Danish creative-tech success.
Products Built for Creators
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Smartsuit Pro: Their flagship full-body motion capture suit captures motion via wearable sensors. Users praised its accessibility—grab it, connect via Wi‑Fi/USB, and start animating in minutes for a fraction of traditional mocap cost (~$2.5 K USD).
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Smartsuit Pro II: The next-gen release in 2021 with improved Sensor‑Fusion 2.0 tech for precise, drift‑reduced capture.
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Smartgloves: Finger tracking with embedded sensors under $1K.
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Face Capture, Headcam, Coil Pro, Headrig and Rokoko Vision: Offering synchronized full‑body + facial + finger capture, plus browser‑based markerless options.
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Rokoko Studio & Motion Library: Software hub for live-streamed capture, editing, exporting, and accessing a built-in motion‑asset marketplace with 50 K+ assets.
Overall, over 10,000 creators—from indie animators to big studios—use Rokoko tools across animation, VFX, games, AR/VR, education, and robotics.
Market Disruption: How Rokoko Changed the Game
Before Rokoko, high-quality motion capture was dominated by optical systems like Vicon or Xsens—complex, expensive, and inaccessible to most creators.
What Rokoko Disrupted:
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Traditional Mocap Systems |
Rokoko |
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$50,000–$250,000 setups |
$2,500–$4,000 for full-body |
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Requires studios & calibrated cameras |
Wearable, portable suit—record anywhere |
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Complex post-processing |
Real-time streaming & clean retargeting |
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Limited to big studios |
Used by indie devs, schools, startups, and influencers |
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Hardware-only focus |
Full-stack ecosystem: hardware + cloud software + marketplace |
Key Impact Areas:
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Accessibility: Opened mocap to small teams, students, educators, and creators in low-resource environments.
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Virtual Production: Enabled real-time animation for VTubers, streamers, and AR avatars.
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Indie Games & Films: Rapid prototyping for character animation without needing an animation team.
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Global Community: Thousands of users collaborate, share, and build tools across the ecosystem—creating network effects.
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Remote Work: Especially during the pandemic, Rokoko's portable setup enabled remote collaboration and live mocap sessions from home.
Funding & Growth
Rokoko has raised a total of approximately $13.7 M over 8 rounds, including a significant Series C in mid‑2022 where they secured $3 M, led by Naver Z, VF Venture, North‑East Venture, robotics specialist Thomas Visti, and new board member Brett Bibby.
That round valued the company at over $80 M, tying them strategically to Naver Z’s metaverse ambitions—especially with integration into the Zepeto platform.
The company has remained profitable and focuses on both hardware and studio-grade software expansion.