Autodesk announced that it has ended the acquisition of Alias for 197 million US dollars. The October 4, 2005, Autodesk announced a definitive agreement to acquire Alias a leading technology programmer of 3D graphics. This acquisition extends the leadership of the Autodesk 3D software in manufacturing, media, and Shows.
Clients require that the next generation of visualization and 3D animation possess photographic realism. In in the future, 3D assets will be created once and can be share with a whole range of sectors, from the industry automotive to architectural design, passing through the cinematography and video games, stated Carl Bass, Director of Operations at Autodesk.
The company resulting from the union Autodesk and Alias has more than seven million users. Among Alias' clients in the automotive and design sector are BMW, Boeing, General Motors, Mattel, Honda, Renault and Rollerblade. Among alias customers belonging to the media and entertainment sector are important film studios and video game programmers, such as for example; Industrial Light & Magic, DreamWorks SKG, Weta Digital, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Electronic Arts, Midway Games, Nintendo and SEGA. Many of these customers use both Autodesk products such as Alias products, which provides the company resulting from the union, the opportunity to offer a more complete set of solutions.
Products, technology and alias services will be integrated into divisions Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions and Media and Entertainment and in your consulting organization. The Alias software StudioTools, for design tasks ranging from 2D sketches to production models, adds new design functionalities and visualization to the portfolio of the manufacturing sector of Autodesk. The acquisition also increases the portfolio of Autodesk media and entertainment thanks to Maya programs of Alias, an academy award-winning app for Cinematographic Sciences and Arts; Alias MotionBuilder software 3D character animation; and FBX, a format used widely for the sharing and use of 3D content.
Autodesk plans to continue the development and technical assistance of products and services of Alias. The priority of research and development of the Combined company is to link the current products of Autodesk and Alias, providing greater interoperability and a better data management. In the manufacturing sector, this provide users with an extended workflow within the conceptual design, as part of the solution of the Autodesk design-manufacturing process. In the field of media and entertainment, many users already use Autodesk and Alias. And consequently, they will benefit from a synchronized workflow in cinematography projects digital, television and video games.
