The Foundry and Luxology merge
The Foundry and Luxology are to merge in a deal ‘match-made’ by mutual client ILM.
For the minute, both companies retain their own names and have assured users that development of their existing tools, including The Foundry’s Nuke and Katana, and Luxology’s modo, will continue as usual.
There are no job losses, and the merged companies report they are actively recruiting new staff.
We’ve now posted our Q&A with The Foundry’s Bill Collis and Simon Robinson and Luxology’s Brad Peebler. In it, they discuss the reasons for the merger and the long-term strategy of the merged company in more detail.
PRESS RELEASE
Leading visual effects software developer, The Foundry, today announced its merger with Luxology. The two companies are a great fit in terms of technology and markets. The combined portfolio will open doors to new ways of working, providing artists and designers with increased creative choice.
The Foundry with its stable of award-winning 2D and 3D VFX software, including industry standard compositor NUKE, sees Luxology’s complementary technology as a natural addition.
Luxology’s innovative 3D modelling and rendering technology and its flagship product, modo, are world class and favoured by thousands of artists and designers globally.
The collective product range is very exciting, but equally important is the shared ethos of the two companies and the staff within them. Both The Foundry and Luxology have strong reputations for being community driven and good collaborators. They are widely recognised for building tools around customer needs, providing artist-friendly workflows and great support.
This union will allow us to push the boundaries for our customers across a wide range of industries.
Bill Collis, CEO of The Foundry comments:
“We were impressed by modo’s strong roots in a variety of markets – including VFX, design and games – and by Luxology’s focus on creating artist friendly, highly advanced technologies. Both comapnies are a great match for each other. The Foundry and Luxology’s products are highly complementary, and we both like our products to be open and flexible, letting the customers choose how they want to work. In the short term we will be continuing to develop the interaction between our products, which will be of immediate benefit to all of our customers. We can’t wait to see what our combined experience and knowledge will allow us to build in the long term.”
Brad Peebler, President of Luxology comments:
“The Foundry has an impressive pedigree in the visual effects industry, where its products and attention to customers are second to none. Creative industries are converging in terms of media, quality and deliverables. Joining forces with The Foundry will allow us to accelerate the development of modo, ushering in a new era for our customers. We simply can not wait to leverage our combined strength to change the landscape for content creators everywhere.”
A year ago, at a chance meeting organised by ILM, John Knoll threw down the challenge of integrating products from both companies. This initially sparked the idea that the two companies could be a greater force together than apart and the merger idea snowballed from there.
John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic comments:
“I am a big fan of both Luxology and The Foundry having been using modo for quite a while and KATANA here at ILM in the last 18 months. Their marriage is really exciting for the VFX community. Their combined technology and similar approach to working with customers is a very interesting development. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on them.”
Read our Q&A with The Foundry’s Bill Collis and Simon Robinson and Luxology’s Brad Peebler