重磅，WebGL行业消息：芝加哥企业家Godard Abel最近用1000万美元战略投资3D产品可视化平台ThreeKit！

战略投资进一步增强了3D可视化功能，使品牌能够创建更具互动性和个性化的在线购物体验芝加哥，2019年1月10日 /美通社/ - 连续创业者Godard Abel领导了一项价值1000万美元的种子投资，投资于3D产品配置和可视化平台ThreeKit，以帮助该公司进一步满足品牌的需求，实现更具互动性和个性化的电子商务体验。该投资将为快速发展的公司的人才收购，产品和业务发展提供资金。

ThreeKit由Ben Houston创立，Ben Houston在好莱坞Visual FX软件领域拥有15年的经验，并且是一群专注于3D先锋和视觉特效的专业人士。在为好莱坞一些最大的电影中使用的特效创建3D可视化技术后，该集团一直与品牌合作，使用同样的技术来彻底改变在线体验。休斯顿现在将担任ThreeKit的首席技术官。

Abel将担任ThreeKit执行主席。领导团队将由来自该领域几家知名公司的B2B商业资深人士组成，包括BigMachines（被Oracle收购），SteelBrick（被Salesforce收购），CloudCraze（被Salesforce收购）和G2 Crowd。高管将包括：

• Joachim Klein，总裁兼首席运营官
• John Kim，销售高级副总裁
• Slava Kovelman，运营副总裁
• 凯利威尔逊，客户成功副总裁
• Nancy Rizkallah，财务副总裁
  

该团队共创造了超过10亿美元的投资者价值和1,000多项高科技工作岗位。现在，他们将利用他们的专业知识，使品牌能够通过下一代3D产品可视化，虚拟摄影和增强现实（AR）来区分他们的客户体验。

“传统的可视化技术一直很笨拙且难以使用，但ThreeKit是一个整体平台，允许卖家为他们的网店创建自己的互动产品体验，”休斯顿说。“最初是为好莱坞而建，我们看到了将这项技术引入电子商务的重大机遇，并正在引领行业内新的产品体验标准。”

ThreeKit的解决方案允许品牌从静态图像转变为完全交互式的在线3D体验，具有定制产品设计，产品导览等功能。此外，强大的AR和虚拟摄影功能允许客户在做出购买决定之前预览他们的自定义。通过使用这些工具并向消费者展示他们所获得的产品，品牌可以看到在线转化增加40％，在线回报减少80％。已经利用ThreeKit技术的品牌包括Crate＆Barrel，Steelcase和CÎROC。

“品牌在其网店中提供引人入胜的产品体验的能力存在着重大差距，但ThreeKit正在通过满足消费者在线购物时的触觉和感受来解决这个问题，”Abel说。“很明显，该公司正在引领新一代的沉浸式和体验式商务，我期待着加速其成为3D可视化技术的全球市场领导者的势头。”

要了解有关ThreeKit如何帮助品牌区分其在线商务体验的更多信息，请访问www.threekit.com。

关于ThreeKit
ThreeKit是一个功能强大的3D产品配置和可视化平台，可以为品牌提供创建交互式产品体验的工具。ThreeKit由好莱坞Visual FX软件拥有15年经验的Ben Houston和3D先驱团队创立，结合了创新，专业知识和经验，提供高质量的解决方案，促进在线客户参与和转换。该公司总部位于芝加哥，在渥太华设有技术创新中心。

有关更多信息，请访问www.threekit.com。

媒体联系人
Katie Pratt
katie.pratt@walkersands.com
312-964-9108

消息来源ThreeKit

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http://www.threekit.com

ThreeKit简介：

您已经看到我们的软件正在运行，但当时可能还不知道。我们的故事始于2005年的好莱坞。我们的创始人兼首席技术官Ben Houston创建了用于数十部大片的软件。超过100部电影使用Ben的CGI效果软件，包括哈利波特，新的星球大战，复仇者联盟，泰坦尼克号和暮光之城的传奇，为他赢得3项科技奖提名。

2014年，一旦WebGL可用于浏览器，零售商就会主动联系Ben，利用他的技术为网络创建逼真的渲染。从那时起，数十家企业转向ThreeKit创建，编辑，优化和展示令人惊叹的视觉内容，以便在网络，电子商务，AR和VR，贸易展览，教程或装配说明等中使用。

Ben Houston于2018年与数字商务资深人士Godard Abel合作。作为一名连续创业者，Godard已经建立了该领域的一些最大的软件公司（BigMachines出售给Oracle，SteelBrick出售给Salesforce）。它们共同重新定义了视觉配置和沉浸式商务的格局。

ThreeKit已经成为同类产品中唯一的平台。

Serial Entrepreneur, Godard Abel, Leads $10 Million Investment in 3D Product Visualization Technology, ThreeKit

Strategic investment further strengthens 3D visualization capabilities, allowing brands to create more interactive and personalized online shopping experiences

NEWS PROVIDED BY

ThreeKit

Jan 10, 2019, 10:00 ET

CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Serial entrepreneur, Godard Abel, has led a $10 million seed round investment in ThreeKit, a 3D product configuration and visualization platform, to help the company further meet the demands of brands for more interactive and personalized e-commerce experiences. The investment will fund talent acquisition, and product and business development for the rapidly growing company.

ThreeKit was founded by Ben Houston, a 15-year veteran in Hollywood Visual FX software, and a dedicated group of 3D pioneers and visual effects professionals. After creating 3D visualization technology for the special effects used in some of Hollywood's biggest blockbuster movies, the group has been working with brands to use this same technology to revolutionize the online experience. Houston will now serve as Chief Technology Officer of ThreeKit.

Abel will take the role of executive chairman of ThreeKit. The leadership team will be comprised of B2B commerce veterans from several well-known companies in the space, including BigMachines (acquired by Oracle), SteelBrick (acquired by Salesforce), CloudCraze (acquired by Salesforce), and G2 Crowd. Executives will include:

• Joachim Klein, President and COO
• John Kim, SVP of Sales
• Slava Kovelman, VP of Operations
• Kelly Wilson, VP of Customer Success
• Nancy Rizkallah, VP of Finance
  

Together, the team has created over $1 billion in investor value and over 1,000 high-tech jobs. Now, they will leverage their expertise to give brands the ability to differentiate their customer experiences through next-generation 3D product visualization, virtual photography and augmented reality (AR).

"Traditionally visualization technologies have been clunky and difficult to use, but ThreeKit is a holistic platform that allows sellers to create their own interactive product experiences for their web stores," said Houston. "Originally built for Hollywood, we saw a major opportunity to bring this technology to e-commerce, and are leading a new standard of product experience in the industry."

ThreeKit's solutions allow brands to move from static images to a completely interactive 3D experience online, with features such as custom product designs, product tours and more. Additionally, powerful AR and virtual photography capabilities allow customers to preview their customizations before making their purchase decision. By using these tools and showing consumers exactly what they're getting, brands can see a 40 percent increase in online conversions and an 80 percent reduction in online returns. Brands already leveraging ThreeKit technology include Crate & Barrel, Steelcase and CÎROC.

"There has been a critical gap in the ability of brands to provide engaging product experiences in their web stores, but ThreeKit is solving for this by fulfilling the touch and feel needs consumers have when shopping online," said Abel. "It's clear the company is leading a new generation of immersive and experiential commerce, and I look forward to accelerating its momentum to be a world market leader in 3D visualization technology."

To learn more about how ThreeKit can help brands differentiate their online commerce experience, visit www.threekit.com.

About ThreeKit
ThreeKit is a powerful 3D product configuration and visualization platform that arms brands with the tools to create interactive product experiences. Founded by Ben Houston, a 15-year veteran in Hollywood Visual FX software and a team of 3D pioneers, ThreeKit combines innovation, expertise, and experience to deliver high-quality solutions that boost online customer engagement and conversions. The company is headquartered in Chicago with a technology innovation center in Ottawa.

For more information, visit www.threekit.com.

Media Contact
Katie Pratt
katie.pratt@walkersands.com
312-964-9108

SOURCE ThreeKit

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https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/serial-entrepreneur-godard-abel-leads-10-million-investment-in-3d-product-visualization-technology-threekit-300776150.html

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One of Chicago's most successful serial tech entrepreneurs leads $10 million investment in ThreeKit, a software startup based in Canada.

[size=1.125] Godard Abel is putting the band back together and leading a $10 million investment in ThreeKit, a software startup based in Ottawa, Ontario.

[size=1.125]Abel, one of Chicago’s most successful serial tech entrepreneurs, will run the company from Chicago, where he’s assembled a senior management team of familiar faces from two of his previous companies, BigMachines and SteelBrick.

[size=1.125]Joining him at ThreeKit are Joachim Klein as president and chief operating officer; John Kim, senior vice president of sales; Slava Kovelman, vice president of operations; Kelly Wilson, vice president of customer success; and Nancy Rizkallah, vice president of finance. Klein, Kim, Kovelman and Wilson worked at SteelBrick and BigMachines. Rizkallah worked at CloudCraze, [color=rgb(59, 56, 190) !important]another Chicago-based software company acquired by Salesforce.  

[size=1.125]ThreeKit built software tools for online sales that allow companies to build 3D images of products, such as furniture and jewelry, which customers in the past wanted to see in person before buying. Now they can shop using virtual reality. The company was founded by Ben Houston, who previously built software used by filmmakers for movies such as the Harry Potter franchise and "Avatar."

[size=1.125]Abel’s previous companies, BigMachines and SteelBrick, sold software that enabled salespeople to quickly come up with price quotes for products that required customization. [color=rgb(59, 56, 190) !important]Oracle bought BigMachines for more than $400 million in 2013, and [color=rgb(59, 56, 190) !important]Salesforce acquired SteelBrick for $300 million in late 2015.

[size=1.125]“We met the founder Ben Houston as he was providing his amazing 3D visualization technology to a Salesforce partner,” Abel said. “We had been looking for this type of technology for 10-plus years to complement the configure-price-quote applications we built at BigMachines and SteelBrick.”

[size=1.125]Houston took advantage of advances in software technology that have made virtual and augmented reality products better and cheaper to build. Customers using the technology include retailer Crate & Barrel, furniture maker Steelcase and the Diageo vodka brand Ciroc.

[size=1.125]Abel is following a playbook that worked well with SteelBrick, a price-quote software maker based in San Mateo, Calif. He [color=rgb(59, 56, 190) !important]invested $5 million and became CEO, while founder Max Rudman stayed on as chief technology officer. Abel quickly recruited former teammates from BigMachines and ran the company from Highland Park, but split his time between Chicago and the Bay Area.

[size=1.125]Abel, a co-founder and CEO of Chicago-based G2 Crowd, will be executive chairman of ThreeKit, involved mostly with recruiting, financing, strategy and industry relationships. Houston will be CTO and will continue to lead an engineering team in Ottawa.
Abel has his hands full with his day job at G2 Crowd, a Chicago-based platform for crowdsourced reviews of b-to-b software he launched in 2013. It r[color=rgb(59, 56, 190) !important]ecently raised $55 million and has heavyweight Silicon Valley investors, including IVP and Accel Partners.

[size=1.125]Abel has made no secret that he wants to take the company, which has more than 200 employees, public—something he hasn’t done before. He’s got big goals for ThreeKit, too.

[size=1.125]“The ThreeKit opportunity could be even bigger” than SteelBrick and BigMachines, he said. "It’s cloud agnostic and can be deployed on AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud or any cloud platform. With SteelBrick we were 100 percent tied to the Salesforce platform. Plus we believe that over the next decade all online commerce will become immersive and experiential, and require the type of 3D visualization and configuration technology that ThreeKit offers.”

[size=1.125]Big dreams, for sure. But history suggests Abel’s got a good shot at pulling it off.

科技企业家在软件创业领域投资1000万美元

芝加哥最成功的连续技术企业家之一，在加拿大的软件初创公司ThreeKit上投资1000万美元。

Godard Abel正在将乐队重新组合起来，并在安大略省渥太华的一家软件初创公司ThreeKit上投资1000万美元。

Abel是芝加哥最成功的连续技术企业家之一，他将从芝加哥经营这家公司，在那里他组建了一支由他以前的两家公司BigMachines和SteelBrick熟悉的高级管理团队。

加入ThreeKit的是Joachim Klein担任总裁兼首席运营官; John Kim，销售高级副总裁; Slava Kovelman，运营副总裁; 凯利威尔逊，客户成功副总裁; 和财务副总裁Nancy Rizkallah。Klein，Kim，Kovelman和Wilson曾在SteelBrick和BigMachines工作。Rizkallah曾在Salesforce收购的芝加哥另一家软件公司 CloudCraze工作。  

ThreeKit构建了用于在线销售的软件工具，允许公司构建产品的3D图像，例如家具和珠宝，过去客户希望在购买之前亲自看到。现在他们可以使用虚拟现实购物。该公司由Ben Houston创立，Ben Houston之前曾为电影制作人制作过电影，如哈利波特系列和“阿凡达”。

Abel之前的公司BigMachines和SteelBrick销售的软件使销售人员能够快速为需要定制的产品提供报价。Oracle在2013年以超过4亿美元收购了BigMachines，Salesforce在2015年底以3亿美元收购了SteelBrick。

“我们与创始人Ben Houston会面，因为他正在向Salesforce合作伙伴提供他令人惊叹的3D可视化技术，”Abel说。“我们一直在寻找这种类型的技术超过10年，以补充我们在BigMachines和SteelBrick建立的配置价格报价应用程序。”

休斯顿利用软件技术的进步，使虚拟和增强现实产品更好，更便宜。使用该技术的客户包括零售商Crate＆Barrel，家具制造商Steelcase和Diageo伏特加品牌Ciroc。

Abel正在关注一款与SteelBrick合作的剧本，这是一家位于加利福尼亚州圣马特奥的价格报价软件制造商。他投资500万美元成为首席执行官，而创始人Max Rudman则继续担任首席技术官。阿贝尔很快从BigMachines招募了前队友，并从高地公园经营公司，但他的时间分配在芝加哥和湾区之间。

Abel是芝加哥G2 Crowd的联合创始人兼首席执行官，他将担任ThreeKit的执行主席，主要涉及招聘，融资，战略和行业关系。休斯敦将担任首席技术官，并将继续领导渥太华的工程团队。

Abel完全负责他在G2 Crowd的日常工作，这是一个位于芝加哥的平台，用于2013年推出的b-to-b软件的众包评论。它最近筹集了5500万美元并拥有重量级的硅谷投资者，包括IVP和Accel伙伴。

亚伯毫不掩饰地想要把这家拥有200多名员工的公司带到公众面前 - 这是他之前从未做过的事情。他也有ThreeKit的大目标。

他表示，“ThreeKit的机会可能比SteelBrick和BigMachines更大”。“它与云无关，可以部署在AWS，Microsoft Azure，Google Cloud或任何云平台上。通过SteelBrick，我们100％与Salesforce平台捆绑在一起。此外，我们相信在未来十年内，所有在线商务都将变得身临其境，体验式，并要求ThreeKit提供的3D可视化和配置技术。“

大梦想，当然。但历史表明，阿贝尔有很好的机会将其拉下来。

[size=1.125]相关新闻：https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john-pletz-technology/tech-entrepreneur-leads-10-million-investment-software-startup