Google Cloud Announced As New Athera Partner

Google Cloud Platform has been revealed by Foundry as the brand new partner for visual effects cloud service Athera.

Athera, known as Project Elara in its beta stage, is tipped to transform visual effects (VFX) workflows.

Craig Rodgerson, Chief Executive Officer at Foundry, added: "The partnership with Google has enabled us to build an industry-leading tool in cloud technology. Google Cloud’s capabilities provide Foundry with the infrastructure needed to scale up Athera and realise our goal of providing an end-to-end cloud services solution for VFX studios everywhere."

Athera will be hosted on Google Cloud Platform, incorporating Google's unrivalled GPU, networking and storage capabilities. It enables VFX studios and freelancers to move their entire pipeline into the cloud. Athera centralises storage, creative tools and pipeline in one place, giving users on-demand and flexible access to their preferred industry tools, including the Nuke family, Katana, Modo, Mari, Cara VR, V-Ray, Houdini and Blender.

Jon Wadelton, Chief Technology Officer at Foundry, commented: "Many of our customers have shared their enthusiasm about how cloud technology can transform their workflows. Working alongside Google Cloud, we will be able to open up new doors for studios and freelancers to access industry leading tools from any location, on flexible terms which are better suited to the ebb and flow of their business needs."

Adam Massey, Director of Strategic Technology Partners at Google Cloud, said: "We are excited to be partnering with Foundry on the development of Athera. We are looking forward to seeing how Foundry’s capabilities can open up new opportunities for the VFX industry."

www.foundry.com