Autodesk buys ETC spinout Wild Pockets

Autodesk, the 3D computer-aided design company, has bought Wild Pockets, formerly Sim Ops Studio, the 3D game platform and spinout of Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center.

Wild Pockets founder and CEO Shanna Tellerman declined to comment on the sale at this time, but her  LinkedIn profile lists her job as Product Manager at Autodesk. Several sources confirmed the sale and speculated that Autodesk will maintain the Wild Pockets office in Pittsburgh, which will give the company a presence in Pittsburgh.

Tellerman started  Sim Ops in 2008 with a virtual training tool that helped workers in high-risk occupations. The company later changed its name to Wild Pockets, based on the 3D game development platform that was one of the earliest 3D platforms on the Web 2.0 scene. Wild Pockets is a free web-based game engine that allows anyone to create and share 3D games and media.

The company has an office in San Francisco in addition to its digs on the South Side. Wild Pockets also sponsors the popular Wild Pockets PA Game Jam, which attracts game creators to Pittsburgh from across the country.

Autodesk, based in San Rafael, Calif., makes the gaming tools 3ds Max, Inventor and Maya.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: VentureBeat, LinkedIn