AUTODESK ACQUIRES ILLUMINATE LABS INTERNAL Q&A to prepare spokespersons for conversations with external parties. Do not distribute outside of Autodesk.
How much is Autodesk paying to acquire Illuminate Labs?
Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
How many employees does Illuminate Labs have?
12
Are there layoffs as a result of this acquisition?
No.
How will Illuminate Labs employees be integrated into Autodesk?
Illuminate Labs employees have joined the Autodesk Media & Entertainment business.
What will happen to Illuminate Labs’ offices?
Illuminate Labs’ Gothenburg, Sweden office will close and employees will move into Autodesk’s Gothenburg office. Illuminate Labs’ San Francisco office will also close and the San Francisco-based employee will move into Autodesk’s San Francisco office.
Will Illuminate Labs CEO Magnus Wennerholm join Autodesk?
Yes, Magnus Wennerholm has joined as a Consultant in Autodesk Media & Entertainment’s Games Group.
What is the potential market opportunity with Illuminate Labs’ products?
- Game titles ranging from AAA console, MMO’s, handheld and social networking games.
- Interactive lighting solutions for previsulization or film and broadcast customers that want to increase productivity of their lighting pipeline.
- OEM technology to certain third party game engines: Unity, Gamebryo®, and Unreal® game engine
Who supplies technology similar to Illuminate Labs’ products?
This is emerging technology, some of the other players are:
- Customer-developed internal tools and integrated tools
- Light Sprint
- Geomeric
- Unreal Engine internal technology
How does this impact Autodesk’s relationship with mental images?
Autodesk’s relationship to mental images remains unchanged. Illuminate Labs’ tools provide interactive lighting solutions to the games market, which are currently not provided by mental images.
Is Autodesk changing the price of Beast or Turtle?
Beast pricing will be adjusted to align with Autodesk’s worldwide middleware pricing structure. Turtle will no longer be sold as a standalone product, as it’s intended to be incorporated into Autodesk’s future offerings for game developers.
Will the release schedules remain the same for Beast and Turtle?
Autodesk plans to adjust the release schedules of Beast and Turtle to align with the development cycles of our other games technology.
What about Autodesk® 3ds Max® software? Will Turtle also become a plug-in for 3ds Max?
It is premature for Autodesk to comment on the specifics of the Turtle technology roadmap.
How will the products be sold?
Beast will be sold in the same way as Autodesk’s other games middleware, i.e. directly through the Autodesk sales team. Autodesk will not sell standalone licenses of Turtle – it’s intended that the technology be incorporated into future offerings for game developers.
I already have Autodesk® Maya® software. How do I buy Turtle now? Will I have to keep upgrading my Maya license in order to get Turtle?
Autodesk will not be selling Turtle as a standalone product. Turtle is intended to be incorporated into future Autodesk offerings for game developers.
Will Autodesk continue to support all Illuminate Labs customers?
Yes. Both Beast and Turtle customers with current support contracts can contact support@illuminatelabs.com for support.
Will Autodesk change Beast and Turtle branding?
Beast and Turtle branding will be modified to reflect that they are part of the Autodesk brand identity.
Autodesk and Maya are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Illuminate Labs, Beast and Turtle are trademarks or registered trademarks of Illuminate Labs AB, in Sweden and elsewhere. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
