Montréal-based gaming tech startup LocusX has raised $3 million to fund its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered debugging software for game developers.
LocusX is the brainchild of two gaming enthusiasts and the two Montréal venture firms that co-led the round: venture builder Diagram Ventures and entertainment tech-focused Triptyq Capital. The funding closed at the end of July.
CEO Francois Pelland told BetaKit in an interview that LocusX’s “issue resolution engine” can identify and propose fixes for programming bugs.
“The night before the ship, I’ve seen game developers more anxious about leaving bugs than the quality of the game.”
With the engine, LocusX aims to help accelerate the development process, reduce manual work, and ultimately produce higher-quality games. The platform, which works as a plug-in for developers, uses AI large language models to identify and propose fixes for bugs. However, the program does not automatically fix bugs, as Pelland believes developers are “best-suited” to make the final call.
Over his career, Pelland said he’s watched the typically labour-intensive work of quality assurance become more involved as games get more complex.
“The night before the ship, I’ve seen game developers more anxious about leaving bugs than the quality of the game,” Pelland said.
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Right now, LocusX is focused on upping the “fix rate” through its product. But it plans to improve the “find rate” (identifying bugs) in the future. The company plans to use its funding for this product refinement and bolstering its five-person team.
The startup represents a convergence of players in the Montréal gaming tech community. LocusX CTO Yan Côté built the virtual-reality headset Vrvana alongside Triptyq Capital partner Bertrand Nepveu. The tech was eventually acquired by Apple and helped inform the Vision Pro. LocusX CEO Francois Pelland worked in the gaming sector for years, at Ubisoft, Entertainment Arts, and Google.
Nepveu told BetaKit that LocusX was built through a venture studio model, with Diagram and Triptyq playing a role from the start in a first-time collaboration. Guillaume Thérien of Triptyq and Frédéric Latreille of Diagram are both joining the startup’s board.
While Triptyq focuses on entertainment tech and interactive media, Diagram’s funds have historically gone toward building and launching startups in FinTech, web3, and cleantech.
Nepveu said there is “definitely a reshaping of the gaming industry right now,” driven in part by AI. The technology is being used to create smart graphics, help with story building, and even replace humans in character voice acting.
In Canada, the gaming industry has faced some labour-related headwinds since the pandemic. According to a report from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, the industry faced a 3.5 percent decline in employment due mostly to studio closures and “substantial layoffs” at larger companies. This included Edmonton-based BioWare and Montréal-based Behaviour Interactive. Recent changes to a multimedia tax credit in Québec, which now covers less of an employee’s salary than it used to, have also cramped costs for employers.
LocusX did not share names of specific game studio clients. However, its product could be useful to all types of companies, from high-budget major publishers (known as triple-A studios) to indie developers. Pelland eventually plans to market the bug resolution engine beyond game development, targeting other creative programming media like augmented reality and virtual reality projects.
For now, Pelland and Côté are locked into the world of games. Pelland’s current gaming pick is Revenge of the Savage Planet, an adventure science fiction game developed by Montréal studio Raccoon Logic. As for Côté, he said he’s surfing a nostalgic wave with Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Ella Don.