tech2 News Staff

Microsoft has acquired Swedish automatic 3D data optimisation company Simplygon. The announcement follows close on the heels of Microsoft acquiring Maluuba, a Canadian artificial intelligence startup. The acquisition of Simplygon will help accelerate the 3D For Everyone strategy. Microsoft intends to democratise 3D content, making it easier for regular users without a graphics background to make and animate 3D content.

The 3D for Everyone strategy was first introduced in the Windows 10 creator's update announcement last year, which is expected to land in April this year. Simplygon technology will be used to improve the capabilities of Windows 10, the new paint, and the online 3D content creation community at Remix3D.com. The new Paint allows users to create content in 3D, use 3D content in their creations that have been made by others, and share the creations with collaborators.

Simplygon has been optimising and enhancing 3D content for over ten years now. Simplygon helps third party developers and studios streamline workflows and optimise content creation pipelines. Simplygon has an SDK used by AAA game studios, has forayed into augmented reality as well as virtual reality experiences, and deployed automatic 3D content optimisation technologies. 3D for Everyone is the next challenge that the team at Simplygon will tackle.

"The leadership team, led by CEO Matt Connors, founder and CTO Ulrik Lindahl and co-founder Koshi Hamedi, bring a depth of knowledge around 3D creation optimization, and we’re excited to welcome the team to Microsoft." Kudo Tsunoda, Corporate Vice President, Next Gen Experiences, Windows and Devices Group, wrote in a blog post by Microsoft. "We’re excited to announce that Simplygon has been acquired by Microsoft! Thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way – our customers, partners, investors and employees," noted a joint blog post by Simplygon CEO Matt Connors, Founder & CTO Ulrik Lindahl, and Co-Founder Koshi Hamedi.

Conan Exiles, Star Fox Zero, Metal Gear Solid V, Mafia III and Far Cry 4 are some of the titles that have used Simplygon technologies. Simplygon technologies managed to reduce the polygon count in Dying Light assets by 70 per cent. Simplygon has previously worked with Microsoft to automatically improve CAD models for Microsoft HoloLens. Simplygon technologies are used for engineering, design, architecture and infrastructure projects as well. Simplygon cloud is integrated into the 3D content creation offerings by Autodesk, including Maya and 3DS Max.