Autodesk Acquires Cloud-Based Animation Pipeline Software Loupe from Tangent Labs

Autodesk, maker of Maya software, has announced the acquisition of Loupe, a cloud-based production pipeline technology for artists and studios.

As part of the deal, Autodesk is hiring the team that created Loupe at Toronto-based Tangent Labs. (Tangent Labs’ sister company, Tangent Animation, abruptly shut down last August.) Among those joining the Autodesk team is Tangent Labs founder Jeff Bell, along with his development team. Bell started his career at Alias Wavefront, and previously worked at Autodesk on the Maya team.

Autodesk says that Bell’s “animation and asset management expertise will help drive the future of production in the cloud, and shape future industry collaborations.

In a blog post, Diana Colella, svp, entertainment & media solutions at Autodesk, elaborated on how the acquisition would fit into the company’s existing business strategy:

We believe that a cloud-based production ecosystem for media & entertainment (M&E) is the right way to tackle the future needs of the industry. Cloud-based workflows make it easier for artists, producers, and supervisors to work more efficiently and scale with the pace of production. This is a journey we are taking in collaboration with our customers, our partners, industry organizations, and even other software vendors.

This acquisition furthers our mission, and I’m excited about what it brings to Autodesk: decades of production experience and extensive software expertise in areas such as asset management and real-time reporting & analytics. By combining this with Autodesk’s well-established leadership in production management and content creation, we can accelerate development of our next-generation cloud production tools on the Autodesk platform for M&E.

Loupe was launched publicly last year. It integrates all aspects of cg production into one package, from asset and project management to render management, while reducing the need for elaborate on-site infrastructure. It is compatible with major software including Blender and Autodesk Maya. Support for SideFX’s Houdini, Epic Games’ Unreal, and Pixar’s Universal Scene Description (USD) is planned.