GenArts Inc., the premier provider of specialized visual effects software for the film, television and video industries, and The Foundry, the world-leading visual effects software developer, today announced they have entered into a broad strategic alliance. Under the terms of the agreement, GenArts will acquire The Foundry’s Tinder and Tinderbox plug-ins business and the two companies will enter into an arrangement to collaborate closely to expand the capabilities of the Nuke platform. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A well-established suite with a loyal customer following, Tinder and Tinderbox have been stalwarts in the visual effects plug-ins market for many years. GenArts will immediately assume all development, sales, marketing and customer support of Tinder and Tinderbox as they work to breathe new life into the venerable Tinder brand.
The strategic alliance allows the development teams from The Foundry and GenArts to work closely together to fully maximize the functionality of their future products. This collaboration opens the door to more effective delivery of new technology as the host platform and plug-in development can be more synchronized.
“Both GenArts and The Foundry deliver technologies that are essential to the compositing pipeline at Method,” said Janelle Croshaw, of Method Studios. “Host platform development is often independent from the features and schedules of plug-in development. We’re very pleased to see that GenArts and The Foundry understand that the way we use their products is extremely intertwined. This collaboration allows us to provide more seamless solutions to clients as we continue to deliver visual effects that push the limits of our audience’s imagination.”
As part of the alliance, GenArts will become the flagship partner in The Foundry’s new third-party partner program for Nuke. GenArts will have an exclusive co-marketing relationship with The Foundry as a provider of visual effects plug-ins for Nuke and Nuke customers will have the option to install trial versions of GenArts plug-ins on Initial installation.
“The Foundry is very pleased to have come to this new arrangement with GenArts,” said Bill Collis, CEO, The Foundry. “We believe that it’s in the best interest of our customers for Tinder to be looked after by GenArts, while The Foundry concentrates on developing complex, problem-solving, image-processing plug-ins including further work on its award-winning Furnace and Ocula toolsets and new products based on our 3D scene technology. We hope our new third party program, launched today, with GenArts as our first provider, will bring a variety of plug-ins to the attention of Nuke users enabling them to do even more within the platform.”
“GenArts’ portfolio enjoys an unquestioned pedigree as the go-to tools in the arsenal of the world’s best visual effects artists and editors,” said Katherine Hays, CEO of GenArts. “Our alliance with The Foundry presents a unique opportunity to deliver value to Nuke users as the platform continues to gain momentum. Customers across the film, broadcast and commercial industries tell us that they highly value the benefits of standardizing their compositing pipeline on a common toolset from a trusted partner. The GenArts portfolio including Sapphire™, Monsters™, Raptors™, wondertouch™ and now Tinder offers the most comprehensive suite of visual effects in the industry for our current and future customers. This strategic alliance with the Foundry further supports Nuke’s growth into markets where GenArts software is a must-have.”
GenArts/The Foundry Strategic Alliance – PUBLIC FAQ
What are the components of this new strategic alliance?
There are three components to the alliance:
• GenArts has acquired the Tinder and Tinderbox business from The Foundry. As such, GenArts will immediately assume all development, sales, marketing and customer support of Tinder and Tinderbox.
• GenArts and The Foundry will collaborate to more closely synchronize the development of Nuke and GenArts plug-ins to fully maximize the functionality and customer value of their future products.
• GenArts will become the flagship partner in The Foundry’s new third-party partner program for Nuke. As such, GenArts will have an exclusive co-marketing relationship with The Foundry as a provider of visual effects plug-ins for Nuke and Nuke customers will have the option to install trial versions of GenArts plug-ins on Initial installation.
Why did GenArts enter into this strategic alliance with The Foundry?
The alliance provides a means by which the development teams from GenArts and The Foundry can work closely together to fully maximize the functionality of their future products. This collaboration opens the door to more seamless technology delivery as the host platform and plug-in development can be more synchronized. In addition, we recognize that Tinder and Tinderbox are both well-established plug-in suites, with a loyal customer following, and have been stalwarts in the visual effects plug-ins market for many years. We are looking forward to revitalizing the Tinder brand and delivering new products that continue to provide great value to our customers.
How does the strategic alliance benefit customers?
Our customers have consistently told us that they are shifting their emphasis away from in-house visual effects tools development, and towards a greater reliance on standardized tools from trusted vendors. In addition, customers have said that they view their plug-ins and their host platform as two intertwined components of a single solution. GenArts’ acquisition of The Foundry’s Tinder and Tinderbox business allows both companies to focus on delivering best of breed product portfolios to customers. This is significant step toward facilitating our customer’s ability to standardize on a more optimized portfolio of tools from their trusted vendors.
Meanwhile, the collaboration component of the alliance is designed to maximize the value of the Nuke platform by more closely aligning its development with that of GenArts’ plug-ins. Customers will benefit from a more tightly integrated solution that more effectively exploits the strengths of each component. This collaboration is a natural extension of the work the two companies have done together as founding members of the Open Effects Association and creators of the OFX programming interface.
Does this mean that GenArts will be de-emphasizing support for other host platforms?
Absolutely not. GenArts has a long history of supporting all the host platforms that our customers consider important and we remain fully committed to this philosophy. This strategic alliance with The Foundry and the recent announcement of Sapphire™ 5 for Autodesk are both excellent examples of that commitment.
Why is selling the Tinder and Tinderbox business good for The Foundry?
The Foundry’s plug-in strength has for many years been in complex research-based image-processing technology such as the award-winning Furnace and Ocula product lines. The Foundry intends to broaden its reach in this kind of plug-in technology.
But Tinder was where The Foundry started – how can you abandon it?
Yes, moving on from Tinder isn’t something we do lightly. But we honestly believe it’s in the best interest of our customers and an important step for future development at The Foundry.
What will The Foundry’s plug-in team do now?
The Foundry’s plug-in team has long been renowned for their innovation, winning an Academy Award for their Furnace product and multiple awards for their ground-breaking Ocula stereo-3D toolset. The team is hoping to continue their success in the hard science of images, expanding in size to support current products and develop entirely new ones. No staff will be moving from The Foundry to GenArts.
What will GenArts do with Tinder and Tinderbox in the future?
We are very excited about the potential for innovation as a result of this alliance and our acquisition of the Tinder business and are evaluating feature and pricing options to provide customers maximum value and flexibility. Starting today, customers can go to www.genarts.com to purchase Tinder or Tinderbox in their current form and at similar price points except for a few exceptions:
• Tinderbox will now be sold as a full suite as opposed to individual boxes
• The minimum period for all license rentals will now be 30 days
• Only node locked licenses will be available for rent
Will Tinder or Tinderbox be folded into any current GenArts products such as Sapphire or Monsters?
Right now, there are no plans to combine Tinder or Tinderbox with Sapphire or Monsters to create a single product. For now, Tinder and Tinderbox will continue to be sold in their current form and at similar price points. We are continually evaluating feature as well as packaging and pricing options to provide our customers maximum value and flexibility.
If I am a GenArts reseller, can I now sell Tinder and Tinderbox?
We are in the process of updating our reseller program to provide our resellers the most efficient way to offer the entire line of GenArts products and to maximize value and flexibility for their customers. Until then, authorized GenArts resellers may resell Tinder for the same host platforms and at the same margins for which they are eligible to sell Sapphire, Monsters and Raptors.
If I am a reseller for The Foundry, can I now resell GenArts products?
If you are not a current GenArts reseller and you are interested in selling any GenArts product (including Tinder), please e-mail us at sales@genarts.com for authorization information.
How do I get support for Tinder and Tinderbox?
Starting immediately, customers should either visit www.genarts.com, or e-mail us at support@genarts.com for all support questions and issues.
Who do I contact to purchase Tinder or Tinderbox?
Starting immediately, customers should either visit www.genarts.com or e-mail us at sales@genarts.com to purchase Tinder or Tinderbox products.
Are you announcing any new products today?
While we are not announcing any new products at this time, GenArts is extremely excited about the opportunity to revitalize the Tinder brand and the potential for innovation around our collaboration with The Foundry. GenArts will be making announcements over the coming months as appropriate.
What were the terms of the deal?
Both GenArts and The Foundry are privately held companies.
Does GenArts plan any additional acquisitions this year?
Since Katherine Hays joined GenArts in 2008, the company has executed on an aggressive growth strategy based on both acquisition and internal development. We chose this path to align the Company more fully with customer’s needs as they shift their emphasis away from in-house visual effects tools development, and towards a greater reliance on standardized tools from trusted vendors. This strategic alliance with The Foundry and the acquisition of their Tinder and Tinderbox business builds on our recent announcement of GenArts Sapphire™ 5, our strategic alliance with Lucasfilm and acquisitions of SpeedSix Software, LLC and wondertouch, LLC in 2009, in the execution of that vision. We continue to review additional strategic acquisitions and will announce them as appropriate.
Does The Foundry plan any additions to its product portfolio this year?
After a successful tie up with Sony, work is progressing well with the commercialization of Katana. The Foundry is actively developing Katana and other new products. You can expect a series of exciting announcements from The Foundry in the coming months.
About GenArts
GenArts, Inc. is the premier provider of specialized digital visual effects for the film, broadcast and video industries. The GenArts Sapphire™, Monsters™ and Raptors™ portfolio equips digital artists with a collection of state-of-the-art image processing and synthesis effects such as glows, light rays, lens flares, lightning, film damage, fire and fluid effects. The effects seamlessly integrate as software plug-ins into leading editing and compositing systems from Adobe, Apple, Avid, Autodesk, Assimilate, Eyeon, FilmLight, The Foundry, Quantel and SGO.
In November 2009 GenArts acquired wondertouch, an award-winning software developer specializing in particle effects. Their flagship product, particleIllusion™, is considered one of the most popular solutions for particle effects creation, enabling artists to create natural effects such as smoke, fire, sparkles, fireworks and countless abstract effects. GenArts was founded in 1996 in Cambridge, Mass. www.genarts.com.
About The Foundry
The Foundry is a world-leading innovator of visual effects and image processing technologies that boost productivity in motion picture and video post-production. The Foundry has a well-established client base that includes leading visual effects facilities worldwide, such as Warner Bros., The Moving Picture Company, Weta Digital, Framestore, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Digital Domain. It is at the cutting edge of software development, marketing and sales for visual effects compositing. In June 2009, The Foundry announced a management buyout for an undisclosed sum led by Advent Venture Partners. Advent backed The Foundry’s management team, led by CEO Dr Bill Collis and the original founders.
The Foundry is highly profitable and has more than doubled in size in the past two years. The Foundry’s products support a wide range of award-winning host platforms including After Effects, Autodesk® Media and Entertainment Systems, Avid DS, Nuke, Shake and Final Cut Pro. In 2007, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded a Sci-Tech Award® to The Foundry’s development team for the Furnace image processing suite – and the company now holds two products with AMPAS Sci-Tech Award® winning technology including high-end compositing system Nuke.
The Foundry is headquartered in London, and has offices in Los Angeles. For more information please visit: www.thefoundry.co.uk
© The Foundry, its logo and product names are registered trademarks in the UK, USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
