Avid Technology Acquires Assets of Character Animation Technologies Ltd
CAT CTO Phil Taylor to join Softimage Co.


Dear customer,

We are excited to announce that on July 6, Avid Technology, Inc. purchased the intellectual property assets of Character Animation Technologies Ltd..  Those assets will be managed by Softimage Co., Avid’s wholly owned subsidiary.  With this purchase, Avid and Softimage are committed to continuing to develop, sell, and support CAT products, ensuring that our customers and resellers see no interruption in access to CAT products or services during this transition.  With that in mind, Softimage will continue to provide the same sales, support, and services that were available from CAT in the past and CAT customers will continue to have the same sales and support contacts as they have had in the past.

As you know, CAT has been a pioneer in providing intuitive tools for animators developing plug-ins for 3ds Max since 2003.  Softimage has a 20-year history of developing the highest quality, artist-focused products for character animation with tools like SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT and SOFTIMAGE|XSI.  We are very excited about the synergy between our respective technologies and what CAT and Softimage can bring to the market moving forward. This combination will allow us to work together to deliver an even broader range of character animation solutions that allow animators to reach their artistic goals with greater ease across multiple 3D platforms.

We are also very pleased to announce that CAT’s CTO, Philip Taylor, has joined the Softimage team in Montreal, bringing his expertise and knowledge to contribute to our future vision for character animation.

We look forward to working with you in the future, and continuing to offer 3D character production tools that empower artists to meet the needs of today’s most demanding productions.  Should any changes occur as we move ahead, we will share details with you as soon as they are available.

If you have additional questions on the acquisition, please contact us at q&a@softimage.com

With best regards,
Marc Stevens
VP and GM

Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology