Founded by Verónica Orvalho, from IT in Porto and the Faculdade de Ciências of the University of Porto, Didimo received a funding of 1.86 million € under the European Commission´s SME Instrument program. The company will use this funding to increase the team and to put in practice its marketing strategy.

Didimo creates 3D virtual characters from a single photo. In just 2 minutes you have a lifelike avatar that can speak, move, and represent you in a 3D world. With over a decade of high-level research in computer graphic, machine learning and facial animation, this technology, developed in IT by a multidisciplinary team led by Verónica Orvalho, can be used in games, social media, film, AR, and VR. As an example, Didimo´s technology can be used by retail companies to improve their costumer´s online shopping experience. A 3D avatar of the client can wear the clothes, which may contribute to reduce the returns and exchanges requests. For entertainment companies, this technology makes it easier to produce large-scale 3D characters, as “didimos” are able to dynamically reflect five poses and 13 facial expressions. In this market, the IT spin-off already has partnerships with Sony and Amazon.


Photo: Didimo currently has a total of 20 employees, distributed in its offices in Leça da Palmeira (Portugal), Vancouver (Canada) and London (UK).