While all the focus might be on virtual reality (VR) gaming, the enterprise side of the industry is a hotbed of advancing tech and ever-evolving workflows. Another nod to that fact arrives today with the reveal that AEC (architecture, engineering, construction) software specialist Autodesk has acquired immersive collaboration The Wild.
Thanks to its own acquisition of IrisVR in 2021, The Wild is also heavily involved in the AEC sector, allowing Autodesk to gain an even stronger foothold as businesses look towards XR to help deliver projects in a world becoming more attuned to remote working practices. Integrating with tools such as Revit, SketchUp, and BIM 360, The Wild’s cross-platform ecosystem integrates with Meta Quest, HP Reverb, Pico Neo, HTC Vive, PC and even AR (on iOS devices) to make it easily accessible to all co-workers.
Between The Wild and IrisVR, both platforms serve over 700 customers worldwide which Autodesk will now be able to build upon. No acquisition sum has been revealed and there’s been no mention of how this will impact the current teams going forward.
“Our acquisition of The Wild reflects the rapid transformation taking place in the building industry, from the complexity of projects to the geographic diversity of teams who design, construct, and operate them,” said Andrew Anagnost, CEO and president, Autodesk in a statement. “XR is a must-have business imperative for today and an important part of Autodesk’s Forge platform vision.”
“The Wild and Autodesk share a common mission of encouraging a more productive and collaborative AEC industry, and in this case, one where teams can resolve issues in minutes from their desks rather than the traditional miles of costly travel,” Gabe Paez, founder and CEO of The Wild adds. “The Wild’s customers understand the value from the get-go, building consensus as a team in the virtual world with the ability to make changes to their designs at the speed of thought.”
Considering the way prices for essentials like gas and electricity are going up, more companies are going to be looking at ways of reducing costs. Reducing travel is an easy one to take out the equation and with remote solutions now prevalent making the switch to a collaboration platform like The Wild is a simpler sell.
For continued updates on the latest enterprise use cases for VR and how immersive collaboration is changing industries, keep reading gmw3.
The first announcement was a brand-new file format specifically for working with AR. Something developed companies such as Pixar – “some of the greatest minds in 3D.”
Apple confirmed that they would be working with leading companies in 3D tools and libraries to bring USDZ support to their services. With Allegorithmic (developer of Substance), PTC, Turbosquid, Adobe, 
