Wikipedia

The Foundry Visionmongers

Foundry (registered as The Foundry Visionmongers Limited; also known under its former brand name The Foundry) is a British visual effects software development company with headquarters in London.[1]

The Foundry Visionmongers Ltd
Company type
Private
IndustrySoftware
Founded1996
FounderBruno Nicoletti
Simon Robinson
HeadquartersLondon
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jody Madden, CEO
ProductsVisual Effects and Animation Software
OwnerRoper Technologies
Websitefoundry.com

History

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The Foundry Visionmongers was founded in 1996, by Bruno Nicoletti, with Simon Robinson joining soon afterwards.[2]

In 2007, software developers Bill Collis, Simon Robinson, and Ben Kent from Foundry, in association with Anil Kokaram from Trinity College Dublin[3] won a Scientific and Technical Award from the Academy Awards (Oscars) for the design and development of The Furnace, an integrated suite of software tools that provides temporal coherence for enhancing visual effects in motion picture sequences with high robustness, modularity and flexibility.[4]

Foundry was bought by the owners of Digital Domain, Wyndcrest Holdings, in March 2007, and took over DD's existing Nuke business. Subsequently it was subject to a management buyout with backing from Advent Venture Partners, and then acquired by The Carlyle Group in April 2011.[5][6][7]

In September 2012, Foundry merged with Luxology, a Mountain View-based software house known primarily for Modo, a 3D modelling and animation package.[8] In 2024, Foundry announced its intention to wind down development of Modo following the release of Modo 17.1.[9]

In May 2015 it was announced that private equity firm HgCapital acquired Foundry from The Carlyle Group "for an enterprise value of £200 million".[10][11]

Alex Mahon was named CEO in November 2015.[12] She superseded Bill Collis, who remained president and board member. Craig Rodgerson joined Foundry as new CEO in October 2017[13].

In April 2019, Foundry was acquired by Roper Technologies.[14] Following the change in ownership, in July 2019 Jody Madden was nominated as CEO, taking over from Craig Rodgerson.[15]

Products

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Foundry had its origins in plug-in development, and its first product was the Tinder (and later Tinderbox) plugins. This business was sold to GenArts in 2010.[16] Other plugins include Ocula, a set of tools for stereoscopic post-processing, and Keylight, a keyer.[17]

Foundry is best known for Nuke, the industry-standard node-based compositor. The CopyCat machine learning toolset was added in Nuke 13.0, and was nominated for the Emerging Technology Award at the 23rd Annual VES Awards in 2025.[18][19] A completely rearchitected 3D system, based on Universal Scene Description (USD) was introduced (in beta) in Nuke 14.0, and Variable-enabled workflows was added in Nuke 16.0. [20][21] The updated 3D system came out of beta in Nuke 17.0 and was joined by an overhauled annotations system.[22]

Mari, a texture painting application was released in July 2010. It was originally developed in-house at Weta Digital.[23]

Katana, a tool for look-development and lighting, originally from Sony Pictures Imageworks, was released in 2011.[24] Recent developments include complete roundtripping to and from USD in Katana 8.0, [25] and the introduction of the UsdSuperLayer framework in Katana 9.0.[26]

Part of the Nuke Family, Hiero, is a timeline and review tool for VFX editorial. The software was designed in-house by Foundry and was released in March 2012.[27] HieroPlayer, a desktop tool for editorial and review, followed in 2014 and was made available for free to anyone with a valid Nuke or NukeX license in 2021.[28]

Flix, a story development tool, was acquired from Sony Pictures Imageworks in 2013.[29] The software was completely rebuilt for Flix 6.0, with a new extension for ToonBoom’s Storyboard Pro introduced in Flix 8.0.[30][31]

Nuke Stage, a new application purpose-built for virtual production and in-camera visual effects (ICVFX), was announced in 2025.[32] Shortly after, Nuke Stage won Future’s Best of Show Award, presented at the 2025 NAB Show by TVBEurope.[33]

Griptape, a pioneer in enterprise-grade AI orchestration, was acquired by Foundry in 2026.[34]

Awards and recognition

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In 2002, Nuke won an Academy Scientific and Technical Award for technical achievement while the product was still at Digital Domain.

In 2013, Katana won an Academy Scientific and Technical Award, also in recognition of technical achievement.[35]

In 2016, Mari was also awarded an Academy Scientific and Technical Award for technical achievement.[36]

In 2018, the Nuke team was awarded a Scientific and Engineering Award by the Academy for the visionary design, development, and stewardship of the Nuke compositing system.[37]

In 2020, Nuke was recognised with an Engineering Emmy Award by the Television Academy.[38]

In 2021, Nuke was awarded an HPA Engineering Excellence Award.[39]

In 2025, CopyCat, Nuke’s machine learning toolset, was nominated for an Emerging Technology Award at the 23rd Annual VES Awards.[40]

Also in 2025, Nuke Stage won Future’s Best of Show Award, presented at the 2025 NAB Show by TVBEurope.

References

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  1. ↑ Amstrong, Ashley (25 April 2015). "Adobe Eyes Bid For British Special Effects House, The Foundry". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  2. ↑ "Meet the Team". The Foundry Visionmongers. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "TCD lecturer wins Academy Award". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  4. ↑ "The 79th Scientific & Technical Awards 2006 | 2007". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  5. ↑ Montgomery, John (22 March 2007). "D2 Software's Nuke Acquired by The Foundry". fxguide. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  6. ↑ Palmer, Maija (3 June 2009). "The Foundry returns to former management". Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  7. ↑ Watkins, Mary (15 March 2011). "Carlyle buys The Foundry". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  8. ↑ Cohen, David S. (25 September 2012). "Fx companies the Foundry and Luxology to merge". Variety. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "Foundry winds down Modo development | Foundry". www.foundry.com. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "HgCapital invests in The Foundry". HgCapital Trust plc. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2018.[permanent dead link]
  11. ↑ "The Carlyle Group Sell The Foundry to HgCapital". The Carlyle Group. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  12. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (10 November 2015). "VFX Software Developer The Foundry Finds New CEO". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Capita's Former Software Chief Joins Foundry as New CEO". Animation World Network. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Foundry's creative innovative attracts new owner | Press Release | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Jody Madden appointed as Foundry's new CEO | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  16. ↑ Seymour, Mike (10 February 2010). "GenArts Buys Tinder plugins from The Foundry". fxguide.com. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  17. ↑ "All Products for Sale". The Foundry. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  18. ↑ "Foundry Releases Nuke 13". Animation World Network. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Nuke CopyCat nominated for VES Award | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Foundry releases Nuke 14.0 | CG Channel". Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Foundry announces Nuke 16.0 | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "Foundry releases Nuke 17.0 | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  23. ↑ "MARI 1.0v1 Released". The Foundry. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  24. ↑ Hughes, Kerrie (27 October 2011). "The Foundry releases Katana 1.0". 3D World. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  25. ↑ "Foundry releases Katana 8.0 | CG Channel". Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  26. ↑ "Foundry adds UsdSuperLayer with Katana 9.0 | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "HIERO Ships - fxguide". fxguide.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  28. ↑ "Foundry offers free access to HieroPlayer | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  29. ↑ "The Foundry Adds Flix Collaborative Storyboarding Tool to Portfolio | Computer Graphics World". www.cgw.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  30. ↑ "Flix 6.0 release | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  31. ↑ "Foundry releases Flix 8.0 | CG Channel". Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  32. ↑ Mutter, Zoe (2 April 2025). "Foundry announces Nuke Stage VP product". British Cinematographer. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  33. ↑ "Nuke Stage wins NAB 2025 Best of Show Award | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  34. ↑ "Foundry acquires Griptape - an exclusive fxpodcast interview - fxguide". fxguide.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  35. ↑ "Katana and mocha creators win technical Oscars | CG Channel". Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  36. ↑ McNary, Dave (8 January 2016). "Academy Honors 33 Individuals With Scientific and Technical Awards". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  37. ↑ Bickerton, Jake. "Nuke to be honoured at Sci-Tech Awards". Broadcast. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  38. ↑ "Nuke wins the Engineering Emmy® Award | Foundry". www.foundry.com. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  39. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (10 August 2021). "HPA 2021 Engineering Excellence Award Recipients Announced". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  40. ↑ "Visual Effects Society Announces Nominees for 23rd Annual VES Awards - Visual Effects Society". 14 January 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
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