Macdonald Henderson advises Old College Capital on Krotos funding

Macdonald Henderson has advised Old College Capital, Edinburgh University’s in-house venture capital fund, in its investment with Leslie Benzies in a six-figure funding round by the Edinburgh-based audio technology specialist Krotos.

The former president of Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar North was the lead investor in the “substantial” deal secured by Krotos, creator of the “Dehumaniser” system that turns human voices into monster sounds for games, films and television. Orfeas Boteas, founder and chief executive of Krotos, hit upon the idea for the technology while studying at Edinburgh University.

The investment will help the firm double its headcount to 20 and expand its suite of audio tools as it seeks to grow its presence in fast-growing consumer markets such as virtual reality.

Since its launch in 2013, Dehumaniser has been used to voice characters in Hollywood blockbusters such as Avengers: Age of Ultron and The Jungle Book, as well as video games including Far Cry 4 and Doom. The software produces creature and monster sounds in real-time, speeding up a process that previously took up to eight hours.

Old College Capital fund manager Andrea Young added: “Krotos is an exciting early stage company with the potential to grow rapidly and deliver real economic impact. We are delighted to support the company and work with Leslie Benzies to assist the company to reach its full potential.

“We were also delighted by the professional service delivered by Fraser (Morrison) and the Macdonald Henderson team. Their commercial approach and experience in the investment market resulted in a well-run project which completed on schedule and in a collaborative spirit.”