Foundry continues development of first-of-its-kind cloud platform with a host of changes that make it even more flexible and easy to access

London, 30th October 2018: Creative software developer   Foundry today announces a series of innovative updates to its cloud-based visual effects (VFX) platform, Athera. Artists can now use any application with any compatible machine profile and use their existing Foundry licenses in the cloud, making Athera even more affordable and easy to access.

Athera enables VFX studios and freelancers to move their entire pipeline to the cloud, giving users on-demand and flexible access to their preferred industry tools such as Nuke, Katana and Mari from Foundry, Houdini from SideFX, and Blender.

Since Athera’s launch in April 2018, Foundry has continued to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to understanding and anticipating customer needs by introducing a range of improvements that will substantially change how artists access and collaborate on Athera.

As part of this, Foundry has introduced a key update to provide artists with even more flexibility in their choice of applications, as well as greatly improved control over costs. Users can now mix and match any application with any compatible machine profile prior to launching an Athera session. This allows users to supercharge their Athera sessions with a more powerful machine when needed, and to dial down costs for day-to-day work.

Foundry is also seeking customers wanting to engage in a proof of concept to deliver projects using the cloud. Please email  Email Contact for more details.

Matthieu Mazerolle, Senior Product Manager at Foundry, commented:

“These updates are all about empowering artists and studios to make infrastructure more easy, affordable and available. They will enable artists to push the boundaries of their creativity by giving them greater control over the tools they use. We are continuously looking at ways to raise the bar of what’s achievable in VFX cloud technology and are looking forward to seeing the results of our latest developments.”

Marc Morissette, Director and VFX Supervisor at Cluster Films, commented:

“Athera is the future of VFX production for us, offering flexibility and expansion on demand. It will give us unique insight into our efficiency as a company and we will be able to track employee performance and adapt this data to employee training. Very exciting!”

For more information, visit   www.athera.io.

About Foundry

Foundry designs creative software technologies used to deliver award-winning visual effects and 3D content for the design, visualization and entertainment industries. Foundry’s software advances the art and technology of visual experience in partnership with creative leaders across the globe. It enables clients like Pixar, Mercedes-Benz, ILM, Weta Digital, The Moving Picture Company and Sony Pictures Imageworks to turn incredible ideas into reality by solving complex creative challenges.

The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in London, with 300 staff based across offices in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Austin and the UK. Foundry consistently invests in R&D to provide more efficient ways for its clients to bring visual concepts to life.

In 2015, the London Stock Exchange named Foundry one of its “1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.” It regularly features in The Sunday Times’ Tech Track as one of Britain’s fastest-growing private technology companies, most recently in 2016 when it also won the Excellence in Service Award at the International Track 200 awards. Every single film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in the last seven years was made using Foundry’s software.

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