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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →DIRT Research Technologies announced an oversubscribed $2 million pre-seed round on September 17, 2024, led by Mark Cuban and Dean Dakolias. The company says it uses physiological signals gathered while audiences watch or play content to identify responses associated with engagement. The announcement describes a research service—not proof that a game will succeed or a fully specified attention-measuring device.
What DIRT says it measures
DIRT describes its service as physiological-signal-based audience research. Its funding announcement says the company collects data from live audiences and analyzes responses in relation to the content they experience. Mark Cuban Companies’ profile says DIRT uses physiological signals to identify content elements and patterns associated with engagement. CB Insights describes a DIRT offering called SIFT as capturing audience physiological responses time-aligned to content.
That alignment is intended to help teams see which moments or elements coincide with audience responses. It should not be confused with a direct, unitary measurement of “attention”: the cited descriptions do not establish exactly what is measured or how any resulting score should be interpreted.
What the sources do not specify
- The sensor make or model, or which physiological signals are collected.
- Participant counts, study design, comparison baselines, or error rates.
- An independently validated relationship between DIRT’s measurements and later player behavior or commercial performance.
DIRT’s product description and the SIFT profile are available from Mark Cuban Companies, CB Insights, and the company’s funding announcement.
How game teams might use it
GamesBeat reported that DIRT’s CEO, Ryan Anthony, presented the service as a complement to player surveys, A/B tests, interviews, focus groups, and playtesting. The intended use is to gather audience-response signals at different points in development—from evaluating early ideas and prototypes to reviewing launch materials and optimizing content later. These are descriptions of intended utility, not a controlled comparison showing that DIRT outperforms those methods.
The methods answer different questions. Physiological signals aligned to content can add information about responses during exposure; surveys and interviews capture what participants say; focus groups and playtests reveal responses in a research session; and A/B tests compare behavior across versions. The available reporting does not establish how well DIRT’s output agrees with these other forms of evidence.
In the funding announcement, DIRT said it served Zynga and multiple Fortune 100 companies in gaming, media and entertainment, and e-commerce. GamesBeat also named TikTok. These are reported client claims, not independently audited endorsements or outcome data. Zynga’s Vice President of Consumer Insights, Matt Penfield, said DIRT had improved product development and business strategy; the cited material does not provide independently verified results behind that statement.
What the $2 million round means
DIRT announced the oversubscribed $2 million pre-seed round on September 17, 2024. It said the round was led by Mark Cuban and Dean Dakolias, with other leaders from gaming, finance, and branding participating. The company said it would use the proceeds to expand data collection and enhance its audience-insight tools with AI. This is a historical 2024 financing announcement, not evidence of a new funding round in 2026.
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Mark Cuban Companies lists DIRT’s founding year as 2020, as does the company’s funding announcement. The investor profile lists Ryan Anthony as CEO, Nick Childs as CMO, and Brendan Murray as CSO.
What is—and is not—established about prediction and privacy
The central limitation for a studio considering the service is validation. The cited company materials and GamesBeat coverage describe what DIRT says it measures and how it hopes teams will use the information, but they do not include an independent benchmark or study establishing accuracy or predictive performance. Physiological response associated with a content moment should therefore be treated as one possible research signal, not evidence by itself that players will continue playing, recommend a game, or make a purchase.
GamesBeat reported DIRT’s statement that its data is collected in a focus-group or market-research context and then aggregated. The cited material does not spell out consent procedures, retention periods, security controls, or de-identification practices, so aggregation alone does not establish that every privacy risk is resolved.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What DIRT said it planned to build next
In September 2024, the company said its next platform evolution would use AI for real-time simulations to help customers develop customized content. That statement describes a plan at the time; the cited sources do not verify whether the feature is currently available.
Quick Recap
Sources
- DIRT Research Technologies funding announcement, September 17, 2024.
- GamesBeat coverage, published September 17, 2024 and updated June 17, 2025.
- Mark Cuban Companies’ DIRT profile.
- CB Insights’ DIRT Research Technologies profile.
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