Adobe has snatched up a 3D software company, France-based Allegorithmic, makers of the popular Substance, an industry standard for 3D textures in a variety of industries, including gaming, architecture, and video post-production. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Allegorithmic’s customers include some of the biggest names in design, including BMW, Ikea, Louis Vuitton, Gensler, and Foster + Partners.
A Future World of Mixed Realities—Why Adobe Acquired Allegorithmic
Adobe has acquired Allegorithmic’s Substance 3D design tools so they can add them to Adobe’s Creative Cloud tools, industry-leading imaging, video and motion graphics tools that empower creatives in the video game industry, VFX artists working in film, broadcast, architecture, marketing, and product design.
Adobe is well aware that in the near future we will live in a world where the real and the virtual blend into mixed reality immersive experiences. As brands look to compete and differentiate themselves, compelling interactive experiences enabled by 3D content, VR and AR will become more critical to the successes of these companies.
01 – Adobe has acquired Allegorithmic and plans for 3D initiatives are in full bloom.
“We are seeing an increasing appetite from customers to leverage 3D technology across media, entertainment, retail, and marketing to design and deliver fully immersive experiences,” said Scott Belsky, chief product officer, and executive vice president, Creative Cloud, Adobe. “Creative Cloud is the ‘creativity platform’ for all and Substance products are a natural complement to existing Creative Cloud apps that are used in the creation of immersive content, including Photoshop, Dimension, After Effects and Project Aero.”
From Electronics Arts to Blade Runner 2049
Allegorithmic is based in France—as discussed in this feature report here—and is a rapidly growing company with clear leadership in the 3D material and texture authoring tools space. Top creative brands like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, BMW, Ikea, and other previously mentioned are all users of their software. Substance Designer has been used in the making of award-winning films like Blade Runner 2049, Tomb Raider and more.
“Allegorithmic and Adobe share the same passion for bringing inspiring technologies to creators,” said Sebastien Deguy, CEO and founder, Allegorithmic. “We are excited to join the team, bring together the strength of Allegorithmic’s industry-leading tools with the Creative Cloud platform and transform the way businesses create powerful, interactive content and experiences.”
02 – Allegorithmic’s Substance Designer 2 when we first starting learning about this exciting company.
Adobe’s strong track record of successfully integrating acquisitions will help further accelerate Allegorithmic’s product roadmap and go-to-market and extend its reach among enterprise, SMB, and individual customers. Allegorithmic CEO and founder, Sebastien Deguy will take a leadership role in Adobe’s broader 3D and immersive design efforts as vice president, 3D and Immersive, reporting into Scott Belsky.
Allegorithmic tools are already offered as a subscription service to individuals and enterprise customers, and in the future Adobe will focus on expanding the availability of Allegorithmic tools via subscription. Later this year, Adobe will announce an update on new offerings that will bring the full power of Allegorithmic technology and Adobe Creative Cloud together.
Architosh Analysis and Commentary
Allegorithmic’s CEO Will Lead Adobe’s 3D Initiatives
As part of the terms of this acquisition, it looks like Allegorithmic’s CEO and founder, Sébastien Deguy, will lead Adobe’s 3D initiatives and to “take them to the next level,” as Deguy writes on this blog post titled “My Peter Jackson Moment.”
The question is “What Are Adobe’s 3D Initiatives?”
Adobe is a company that has strangely long ignored truly deep diving into the 3D software market. Is this a sign that has changed? Deguy’s blog post suggests that Adobe may finally be growing its third dimension. To be honest the California software giant has spent plenty of time investing 3D in the past and today has initiatives and partnerships. Some partnerships have long suggested (or hinted at) possible acquisition targets.
MORE: Getting Real with 3D Materials—How Allegorithmic’s Technology Is Leading
One such longstanding partnership has been with Strata. Strata’s 3D tools pivoted years ago towards the packaging design market, addressing marketing and retail experiences, both areas customers today utilize Adobe’s tools for. Another interesting longstanding partnership has been with Maxon and its award-winning 3D tool, Cinema 4D.
The latter would be a more difficult acquisition target as Cinema 4D technology is a core technology among Nemetschek Group products and Maxon itself is a Nemetschek subsidiary. Adobe, of course, could go after the Foundry Group, a rather large independent software house with a plethora of industry-leading 3D software solutions targeting the same markets mentioned in Adobe reasons for acquiring Allegorithmic.
An interesting tidbit is that Dr. Sébastien Deguy notes that Adobe had been an investor for two years prior to this moment. He also writes, “We want to invent the next camera obscura for 3D artists and immersive experience builders.” That is a bold statement.
To learn more read Adobe’s blog post here.