GitHub co-founder Tom Preston-Werner is leading 180 Studios into software development, partnering with virtual production veterans Phil Galler and Kris Murray to create version control and collaboration tools specifically designed for creative professionals. The announcement marks 180 Studios' first move beyond their London creative space into building digital infrastructure for the "unprecedented volume" of assets that AI-powered workflows are generating across entertainment and creative industries.
We spoke with Phil Galler about the vision behind this new venture and how the team plans to solve collaboration challenges that current tools weren't built to handle.
Vertical Integration from Creation to Physical Deployment
The 180 Studios software suite addresses what Galler describes as a complete workflow gap in how creative teams manage digital assets. "It's really vertical integration from version control to asset review and approval to deployment into physical spaces," Galler explained in our conversation.
The platform consists of three core tools:
Version control software designed specifically for creative teams working with large digital files
Review and approval systems that work across 2D and 3D environments
Automation platform for deployment to physical spaces like LED walls, theme parks, and live events
Unlike traditional developer-focused tools, this system is built around the artist's workflow and interface preferences. "We want to be agnostic to all those platforms because an artist is using three or four different solutions and maybe they're using Sora," Galler noted, referencing how creators now work across multiple tools including generative AI platforms.
Artist-Centric Infrastructure for the AI Era
Preston-Werner's involvement signals the technical ambition behind the project. "What we're building today, with some of the original GitHub team, is a version control system to manage assets, search, and file management for the broader creative community," he said in the announcement.
The timing addresses a critical need as AI tools exponentially increase asset creation volume. Teams working on marketing campaigns, virtual production, gaming, and immersive experiences are generating massive quantities of iterations, versions, and derivative content that existing tools struggle to manage effectively.
Galler positions the solution as "infrastructure for the creator ecosystem of the future," acknowledging that the creative technology landscape continues evolving rapidly. "Right now, not that many people use Gaussian splats, but in five years, everyone may be using Gaussian splats."
Beyond Traditional Collaboration Tools
The review system specifically targets a major pain point: enabling non-technical stakeholders to provide feedback on 3D environments without requiring specialized software knowledge. "We want to give you an easy interface so you don't have to learn how to do 3D, but you can navigate and comment and review and approve 3D environments in a very simple way," Galler explained.
180 Studios is currently working with beta testers to evaluate the tools before commercial release, with plans to onboard first customers in early 2026.
From Lux Machina Experience to Broader Creative Infrastructure
Galler and Murray bring deep virtual production expertise from co-founding Lux Machina, the company behind groundbreaking virtual production workflows for The Mandalorian and House of the Dragon. After exiting Lux Machina, they founded Seismiq to build asset review and automation tools, which has now been absorbed into 180 Studios.
Check out our past interview with Phil at Vu's Virtually Everything summit in 2024:
This hands-on production experience informs their product development approach. "Being as close to the metal on some of these things is the best thing that a product team can do," Galler said, explaining why 180 Studios continues working on creative technology projects globally while developing software tools.
The team currently has projects running in Shanghai and Tokyo for theme park groups, ensuring they understand firsthand the workflow challenges their software aims to solve.
Building the Creative Technology Workforce
The team aims to "get the best of the best to help us craft these tools" as they prepare for market launch throughout 2026. With creative workflows becoming increasingly complex and AI-augmented, the industry needs infrastructure that can scale with both current needs and future technological developments.
Roll Credits: This collaboration between GitHub's co-founder and virtual production pioneers signals how seriously the industry is taking creative asset management challenges, particularly as AI transforms how content gets created and iterated at unprecedented scale.
