MUMBAI: Tata Elxsi, part of the $70 billion Tata Group, and international children‘s entertainment company A Squared Entertainment (A2) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a joint venture.

The JV will create, develop and distribute original brands, including animated entertainment and digital gaming.

"This venture will combine the best of creative and marketing skills from Hollywood and the animation production experience and scale of Visual Computing Labs of Tata Elxsi to create meaningful and purposeful content of which we can all be proud of," said Tata Elxsi MD and CEO Madhukar Dev.

Tata Elxsi‘s Visual Computing Lab (VCL) has been associated with animation and VFX projects for motion pictures, television programmes and TV commercials. It leverages a large talent pool including creative personnel and multi-site production capabilities through studios in India and Los Angeles.

Tata Elxsi also brings game development experience across multiple platforms.
 
"Combining A2‘s creative development, brand management and multi-media distribution expertise with Tata Elxsi‘s exceptional animation capabilities and technological innovation gives us a tremendous advantage in today‘s competitive children‘s marketplace," said A Squared co-president Andy Heyward. "Not to mention the powerful stable of brands that is already in development with personalities ranging from Warren Buffett to Martha Stewart, Gisele Bundchen and Stan Lee. This is just the start."

A2 is a brand entertainment company that creates, develops, produces, programmes, markets, merchandises and distributes content across all channels: online, offline, on-air and at retail outlets.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, A2 Entertainment was created by co-presidents Andy Heyward and Amy Moynihan Heyward in 2009. It was created with a mission to develop meaningful entertainment in various formats and recreate the way brands are managed and brought to market in the multimedia, multi-tasking world.

A2 Entertainment is know for producing Secret Millionaire‘s Club with billionaire Warren Buffett and Gisele & the Green Team with Bundchen.

Upcoming series include Martha & Friends, a new animated series featuring a 10-year old Martha Stewart, and Stan Lee Comics, a new label of superheroes created with Stan Lee.