MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada, 11 Nov. 2005. Engenuity Technologies Inc. today announced that it has acquired BGT BioGraphic Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of artificial intelligence (AI) software for the gaming, entertainment and visual simulation (VizSim) industries.
With this acquisition, Engenuity will expand the simulation capabilities of its STAGE suite of products, allowing it to offer a broader range of applications to its existing simulation customers and to penetrate new vertical markets, such as urban simulation, homeland security and serious games.
STAGE is Engenuity's portfolio of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software products for building simulation-based training systems, avionics test benches, mission planning and rehearsal systems in an integrated or distributed DIS or HLA environment. By integrating AI.implant, STAGE users will have the ability to control the brains of virtual entities in their visual simulations.
This "virtual brain" will enable characters to mimic human reactions to situations in a simulation scenario. This capability will benefit Engenuity's existing customers, and will expand the appeal of Engenuity's products to a broader audience including customers interested in ground, urban and disaster simulations, as well as homeland security and serious games.
"Our vision is to build Engenuity into a one-stop-shop for end-to-end visualization and simulation solutions. This is the first step in our acquisition strategy to expand our presence in the broader simulation market," says Patrice Commune, CEO of Engenuity.
"We are excited about the standalone strength of the AI.implant product in its existing games, entertainment and VizSim markets as well as the immediate and long-term synergies between AI.implant and the STAGE suite. We expect this acquisition to strengthen our technology offering to our simulation customers, and provide a more powerful foundation of research & development for existing users of AI.implant."
Engenuity acquired all of the outstanding shares of BGT in exchange for 1,175,831 common shares, $162,131 in cash and a promissory note of $250,000 to be paid in 12 months from closing. Engenuity also assumed $1,494,186 of BGT's debt, of which $492,870 was repaid at closing.
The AI.implant team will grow and continue to develop AI.implant as a standalone product, and will support its customers in the gaming and entertainment industries. Dr. Paul Kruszewski, founder and president of BGT BioGraphic Technologies, will assume the role of Engenuity's chief technology officer to help shape Engenuity's long-term technical focus and diversification into the growing VizSim and Serious Games space.
"Engenuity has a long history in the simulation marketplace, and we are excited to be contributors to the technological innovation of the company as it expands its role as a key player in the VizSim and Serious Games industries," says Kruszewski. "This acquisition creates a powerful new force in the games middleware industry. Our new team remains committed to servicing the film and gaming industries, and we look forward to leveraging Engenuity's development infrastructure to further accelerate our current product penetration in these markets."
Montreal-based BGT BioGraphic Technologies develops and sells best-of-breed artificial intelligence (AI) software under the AI.implant brand to game developers, animators, and military simulation developers. Customers include industry leaders like Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Midway Games, Kuju Entertainment, Disney, TBS, NHK, Lucas Film, CAE, FATS, Krauss-Moffei Wegman, and L3. For more information, see www.biographictech.com.
Engenuity Technologies Inc. is a global leader in visualization and simulation software solutions for the aerospace, defense and automotive industries. The company's products and services are currently used by more than 800 customers in 40 countries, including many of the world's largest organizations. Engenuity has offices and distributors throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, see www.engenuitytech.com.
