The IMAGE Tower is expected to open its doors by the end of 2024.

Construction of the building is underway in India—specifically in Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana. Formed in 2014, the young state is already home to nearly 200 companies working in animation, VFX, gaming and comics (AVGC). 

The IMAGE Tower will provide a 1.6-million square foot facility for companies working in this space, with a capacity ranging between 18,000 to 20,000 people. Aside from boosting the local sector, it’s also an opportunity for international companies to set up an Indian office at the facility. 

“With the creation of such mammoth infrastructure, we are also inviting the world to come to Hyderabad,” says Jayesh Ranjan, (pictured) who serves as the principal secretary of industries, commerce and IT departments for the Telangana Government. Working in India can be a gateway to accessing the largest population in the world—more than 444 million children, per Statista. “Access to a huge market is now guaranteed,” Ranjan adds, noting that the emergence of cheaper data plans in recent years has helped drive a significant increase in OTT platform growth.

Investing in AVGC comes as a natural progression thanks to the growth of the sector, buoyed by a recent breakthrough international interest in the region’s content—most notably with the 2022 Tollywood film RRR, which spent 18 weeks in Netflix’s global top 10 non-English films and earned an Oscar earlier this year.

On the kids side, Hyderabad is also home to Green Gold Animation. The prodco is behind the preschool toon Mighty Little Bheem, the second most-viewed kids original on Netflix globally when it launched in 2019. The series also dominates the most-viewed clips on the Netflix Jr. YouTube channel (15.3 million subscribers). 

To support the growth of kidcos and other AVGC players, the IMAGE Tower will lease out facilities and equipment to studios. For instance, animation companies will be able to access resources like a render farm and a motion capture studio in the building, Ranjan notes. “We are also going to set up a skill academy in the tower,” he adds, a plan that’s in early development with a focus on closing any skill gaps for the companies operating in the building. 

In addition to infrastructure, Ranjan also highlights the week-long annual event India Joy, which kicks off tomorrow (October 31). The annual event, now in its fifth year, spotlights networking, trade exhibitions and other B2B opportunities relating to VFX, animation, and gaming. This year’s edition is expected to draw in close to 20,000 global attendees, Ranjan estimates.