Visual effects software developer The Foundry has announced its merger with Luxology. The two companies see the merger as a great fit in terms of technology and markets and say the combined portfolio will open doors to new ways of working providing artists and designers with increased creative choice. Bill Collis CEO of The Foundry said “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 companies 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 said “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.” John Knoll visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic said “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.” A year ago at a chance meeting organized by ILM 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.
