P.J. Gunsagar (’95)
P.J. is Co-founder & CEO of Spire Animation Studios, a company whose mission is to empower world-class and diverse talent to entertain global audiences through animated feature films.
UCLA is one of the world’s deepest and most competitive educational melting pots. It is easy to get lost and difficult to navigate through without being able to build relationships, thrive under pressure, and be empathetic. In the 21st century, leaders need these exact skills to build strong companies.
P.J. is an entrepreneur at heart. After starting his career in finance, working as an investment banker at UBS Warburg and early-stage investor at Intel Capital, he focused his career on building companies at the intersection of technology and media from the ground up. Spire Animation Studios is the fourth company co-founded by P.J.
Prior to Spire, P.J. was Co-Founder and CEO at Kidaptive, an adaptive learning and educational content company focused on personalized learning. Kidaptive is best known for its award-winning animated iPad app, Leo’s Pad, which entertained and educated millions of preschoolers around the world. Kidaptive also developed ALP, a platform for improving learning outcomes by providing highly scalable processing of complex data streams using proprietary machine-learning algorithms. Kidaptive was acquired by McGraw Hill in 2021.
Before Kidaptive, P.J. was co-founder & President of Prana Studios, a leading global 3D animation and visual effects studio. Prana’s filmography includes “Transformers,” “TRON Legacy,” “TinkerBell,” and Disney’s “Planes.” P.J. also cofounded Ettache, an online account aggregation company, which was acquired in 2001 by Adhesion Technologies.
“UCLA is undervalued in venture capital and entrepreneurship because our alumni network is largely disconnected. UCLA Ventures has the potential to galvanize our outstanding investors and entrepreneurs in impactful ways that can shine a brighter light on our extraordinary school.”
"Being a part of that impact and helping UCLA gain the respect it deserves are the main reasons I decided to join UCLA Ventures."
P.J. grew up in Saratoga, California and today lives in Los Altos, California with his wife and two daughters, and dog Boomer. He is a die-hard Bengals fan who flies their flag proudly in front of his house.
P.J. holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Economics and Political Science from UCLA and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
Prior to Spire, P.J. was Co-Founder and CEO at Kidaptive, an adaptive learning and educational content company focused on personalized learning. Kidaptive is best known for its award-winning animated iPad app, Leo’s Pad, which entertained and educated millions of preschoolers around the world. Kidaptive also developed ALP, a platform for improving learning outcomes by providing highly scalable processing of complex data streams using proprietary machine-learning algorithms. Kidaptive was acquired by McGraw Hill in 2021.
Before Kidaptive, P.J. was co-founder & President of Prana Studios, a leading global 3D animation and visual effects studio. Prana’s filmography includes “Transformers,” “TRON Legacy,” “TinkerBell,” and Disney’s “Planes.” P.J. also cofounded Ettache, an online account aggregation company, which was acquired in 2001 by Adhesion Technologies.
“UCLA is undervalued in venture capital and entrepreneurship because our alumni network is largely disconnected. UCLA Ventures has the potential to galvanize our outstanding investors and entrepreneurs in impactful ways that can shine a brighter light on our extraordinary school.”
"Being a part of that impact and helping UCLA gain the respect it deserves are the main reasons I decided to join UCLA Ventures."
P.J. grew up in Saratoga, California and today lives in Los Altos, California with his wife and two daughters, and dog Boomer. He is a die-hard Bengals fan who flies their flag proudly in front of his house.
P.J. holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Economics and Political Science from UCLA and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.