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French company Golaem, known for its crowd simulation technology, has announced that Autodesk has acquired its “key intellectual properties and [its] team.” The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed, but we know that a direct integration into Autodesk’s offerings is planned.
Above: a few movies, TV shows created using Golaem technology.
Why the Acquisition?
The acquisition makes sense on paper: Golaem integrates directly with Maya and has become a staple in crowd simulation, particularly for film and series. In recent years, Golaem has also ventured into other technologies, especially those related to AI.
It should be highlighted that Golaem has emphasized an ethical approach to AI training data, providing studios with the means to train AI on their own data. No data is being sent back to Golaem. This contrasts with many tools on the market that have been trained using data scrapped online, which creates ethical and legal issues.
Implications of the Acquisition
As a direct result of the acquisition, Golaem’s online store has been shut down, with Autodesk planning to integrate the technology into its own solutions. Autodesk has provided limited details at this stage. Existing Golaem customers will receive more information via email.
The seven members of the Golaem team will join Autodesk, marking “a new chapter,” according to Golaem. Support is expected to continue without significant changes, with the team remaining available to assist clients.
Wonder Dynamics, Golaem… Who’s next?
This acquisition comes just a few months after Autodesk announced the acquisition of Wonder Dynamics, a solution for integrating 3D characters into live-action scenes using AI. It appears Autodesk is actively acquiring external companies to strengthen its position in the ME (media and entertainment) sector, which includes animation, VFX, and video games.
Here is the full official announcement published by Golaem.
Autodesk acquires key intellectual property (IP) and the team from Golaem
Submitted by admin on Mon, 08/05/2024 – 18:15
We are thrilled to share that Autodesk has acquired key intellectual property (IP) and the team from Golaem!
What does it mean for you?
As of today, nothing changes: our developers and support teams are still there and committed to supporting you and your projects.
We understand that, with Golaem’s acquired team, Autodesk will next work toward integrating Golaem’s key intellectual property (IP) into Autodesk’s current product offering.
Autodesk has acquired Golaem’s key IP, and as such, how we offer licenses has changed and our online store is now closed. For details and help with project or academic licenses, please contact us directly.
Golaem customers will receive an email with more details.
Golaem is proud to have powered hundreds of productions, among the best of their time, during the last 15 years. Stay tuned for even more amazing things ahead!
What about the future of Golaem?
As you may know, being a small and independent company of 7 people, we did not always have the means to develop all our ideas. Our team is eager to join Autodesk teams to deliver even more productive and user-friendly tools, directly in Autodesk products.
We understand that Autodesk plans to integrate Golaem’s key IP directly inside Autodesk’s current product offerings, making it the top standard for crowd simulation and allowing more users to be able to benefit from the power of Golaem tools to give life to their 3D scenes in the VFX/Animation industry and beyond.
Furthermore, we believe that the Golaem team’s experience with procedural animation and AI will be a key addition to Autodesk’s teams, reinforcing Autodesk’s leading position on animation tools and delivering even more user-friendly and productive workflows to its customers.
To infinity and beyond
This marks a new chapter in our journey for Golaem and the team. This has been an incredible ride taking technologies out from our research lab and turning them into an acclaimed and two-time Emmy award winning VFX/Animation software.
We would like to thank you all, our users, our friends, our customers, and we are excited to keep working with you in the future to create more incredible workflows and deliver astonishing shots!
If you have any questions, please reach out.
Sincerely,
The Golaem team
