Feb 9, 2022

Crafty Apes acquires Molecule VFX to Expand New York Studio

More consolidation in the vfx industry: Crafty Apes has acquired Molecule VFX, having worked alongside the studio on several productions.

Crafty Apes's management team in New York will work with the leaders of Molecule VFX to integrate the companies and expand their operations in the city, under the Crafty Apes banner. The new studio will double Crafty Apes's footprint in the city. It will continue to work on features, commercials, streaming, and episodic content, as well as providing front-end creative consultation and on-set supervision.

Founded in 2011 in L.A., Crafty Apes has expanded to seven production facilities across North America. Its credits include the features Spider-Man: No Way Home, Red Notice, Licorice Pizza, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and the series Ted Lasso, Insecure, and Stranger Things.

Molecule VFX was founded in 2005, and has studios in L.A. and New York. It has worked on series such as Billions, Gossip Girl, Genius: Aretha, and P-Valley, and acclaimed features like Da 5 Bloods. Its staff number more than 80.

The two companies have recently shared series work between Crafty Apes's Georgia studio and Molecule's New York facility, providing both on-set and post vfx resources to the likes of Genius: Aretha and P-Valley.

Crafty Apes partner Chris LeDoux said in a statement, “We are always looking to grow our team with talented artists and the Molecule team has a strong track record of producing outstanding work while taking great care of their clients. Bringing our two teams together will allow us to even better serve our clients on a greater scale in both episodic television and feature films.”

Molecule CEO Andrew Bly added, “Luke and I are so proud of where our team's incredible talent has brought Molecule VFX. We have been allies with Crafty Apes for years, so joining forces with them will allow us to reach new heights together. We believe this merger will have a significant, positive impact on the vfx industry in NY.”