Pixlr adds online image editing to consumer portfolio
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Autodesk announced today it has completed the acquisition of Pixlr, a free online and social image creating, collecting, editing and sharing service. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed in the press release, but the release did say Pixlr’s founders will join Autodesk.
The Pixlr service was started in Sweden in August 2008, according to Autodesk, and provides accessible tools for non-professionals to create, edit, and share images online and socially via platforms like Facebook. Autodesk says the buy will enhance its ability to provide image editing for its consumer products, such as the SketchBook product line. As a result of the acquisition, SketchBook Pro desktop users will gain the ability to read and write image file formats such as PXD and to easily exchange files while maintaining deep data such as layers, according to the release. Current Pixlr users will immediately be able to add more freehand sketching to their projects through file compatibility with Autodesk SketchBook Pro desktop application.
“Lots of people–not just creative professionals—want to express themselves visually,” said Samir Hanna, vice president of Consumer Products at Autodesk, in a prepared statement. “Combining image editing capabilities with sketching capabilities provides new avenues for rich visual expression. We also intend to marry the Pixlr team’s web development experience with our expertise in mobile app development to help people everywhere be creative on the devices of their choice.”
