With help from GM Business Growth Hub, Captive Devices has developed and launched a new motion capture system, invested in in-house manufacturing and expanded into the fast-growing virtual production market.
- £500,000+ projected revenue for year two
- £55,000 innovation grant funding
- 4.5 jobs to be created by September 2026
When three former Epic Games employees decided to start a motion capture technology company in April 2024, they knew their expertise gave them a competitive edge – but a projected revenue in excess of half a million pounds for year two has exceeded even their expectations.
“The pace of growth has been incredible,” says Fred Isaac, Co-Founder of Captive Devices. “Innovation has been really key to what we’re building, allowing us to move beyond simply delivering project work towards creating products and becoming a self-sustaining business.
“The innovation support we’ve had from GM Business Growth Hub has made a massive difference, helping us to navigate challenges around product design and development. Without the funding and advice, we would have struggled to think long-term, staying on the treadmill of delivering the next project.”
Here’s how GM Business Growth Hub’s Innovation Service helped Captive Devices turn a strong idea into a scalable product and growing business…
Overcoming barriers to commercialisation
Following early success designing customised hardware for visual effect (VFX) companies, the small team had a vision to increase its client base by making motion capture technology more accessible. “The aim was to appeal to a wider range of businesses in the VFX, gaming and AI industries,” explains Fred. “We wanted to offer off-the-shelf products for those who may not have the time or financial resources for fully customised systems.”
The idea was a head-mounted camera (HMC) facial motion capture system. The technology captures real human facial expressions and translates them into digital animation data, without the cost or complexity typically associated with bespoke setups. Instead of tailored camera rigs, custom software builds, time-intensive installation and ongoing technical support, the Captive Devices concept would work straight out of the box.
They were, however, confronted by the sort of challenges familiar to start-ups and scale-ups: “The main barriers to commercialisation were time and resources. We were trying to balance active client work with developing, testing and refining the new product and this wasn’t easy. We had a working prototype but were still at an early technology readiness stage. This is where the input of an innovation specialist at GM Business Growth Hub gave us the belief that we were on to something and the practical support to make it happen.”
As well as strategic guidance, GM Business Growth Hub helped secure £10,000 in innovation grant funding. This enabled Captive Devices to work with an experienced VFX hardware developer on a three-month R&D project, focused on optimising the hardware, validating performance and testing the system against industry requirements. The company was then able to unlock funding from the MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub (MITIH), which helped build on the earlier GM Business Growth Hub support and bring the new product to market.
That support quickly translated into commercial results. CoreHMC launched in early 2025, with £250,000+ in initial sales and a strong sales pipeline: “We’ve been delighted with the response. The first production batch sold out within weeks, which is absolutely excellent!” Distributed across the UK as well as overseas, customers include Dambuster Studios and the University of Salford, which is using CoreHMC as part of its Motion Capture for their Creative Industries course.
Establishing a strong foundation for the company’s next phase of growth and transferring specialist knowledge into the business, the project’s success also enabled Captive Devices to open new offices in MediaCity, placing the business at the centre of Greater Manchester’s digital technology sector.
CapEx grant to support scale-up
To maintain momentum and meet increasing demand, Captive Devices then invested in strengthening its in-house manufacturing and quality control capability. With the help of a £14,340 capital expenditure grant, the business purchased equipment for three custom-designed workstations. The new set-up enables rapid 3D prototyping and small-batch production, brings electronics assembly and testing on-site, and introduces a dedicated quality control area to ensure consistent standards.
“These facilities have greatly increased our operational capacity,” says Fred. “We previously relied heavily on outsourced manufacturing. Now, we’ve got a faster time-to-market, improved confidentiality of proprietary designs, greater production flexibility, and reduced dependency on international supply chains.”
Expanding into virtual production
The next phase of innovation is already underway. As part of its scale-up plans, Captive Devices is expanding beyond facial motion capture into the fast-growing virtual production market.
“Customer feedback has consistently highlighted demand for simplified, integrated solutions for In-Camera Visual Effects (ICVFX) workflows,” says Fred. “Current ICVFX camera tracking workflows require multiple separate devices and software that must be individually sourced, integrated and calibrated. Such complexity creates significant cost, reliability and accessibility barriers across the industry.”
To address this, Captive Devices successfully applied for £43,000 funding to work with a product design partner on a four-month development project. The result is the (yet to be named) Captive Devices Camera Tracker, a single-device solution that integrates all essential camera-tracking components into one system. “It’s an innovation that dramatically simplifies production workflows, making it possible for even smaller teams to access professional-grade virtual production capabilities,” says Fred.
Once launched in 2026, the Captive Devices Camera Tracker will position the company to enter the £2.8 billion virtual production market, opening up new revenue streams across cinematography, gaming and AI-driven applications, with distribution partners being sought in key regions such as the United States, India, South Korea and Japan.
Reflecting on the journey so far, Fred says: “Being based in Greater Manchester has been fundamental to our growth. We’ve been able to get the support we needed and gain easy access to test facilities and customers that we can speak to directly.
“The innovation team at GM Business Growth Hub have been exceptional to work with, helping us cut through the normal bureaucratic hurdles to access the support and funding we need in a format that works for us. If you are an innovative and growing business in Greater Manchester, I highly recommend engaging with them.”
Contact our team today on 0161 359 3050 or at bgh@growthco.uk to find out how specialist support can help your business, whichever sector you’re in.
Get in touch
Please contact us at 0161 3593050 or query below.
Take that first step and we’ll support you with whatever you need to succeed.
Sign-up to our newsletter
Insights, news, events and opportunities straight to your inbox.