MetaCreations Corp has acquired Canoma Inc, a privately-held 3D digital imaging software house from Portola Valley California, for $1.75m in cash and 300,000 shares of common stock. CanomaÆs technology, currently under development, creates 3D images and content from 2D digital images, and is intended for use over the internet and in other applications. MetaCreations, based in Carpinteria, California, is the 3D visualization software company that resulted from the merger in May 1997 of MetaTools Inc and Fractal Design Corp (CI No 3,172). It plans to further develop the Canoma technology, using it as the basis for a 3D web content creation tool due for release during the first half of this year. It will be integrated with the companyÆs MetaStream open file format, developed with Intel Corp for scaling and streaming 3D objects via the internet and currently shipping with Windows 98, and also with its client-side engine and other 3D content creation tools. CanomaÆs two founders, who plan to stay with the company, were key members of the team at Adobe Systems Inc that developed PageMill.
