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SGI adds ParaGraph
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May 14, 1997: 1:48 p.m. ET
Buys virtual reality company that chess guru Kasparov helped found
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Garry Kasparov found Wednesday that computers can be pleasing as well as a frustrating, as IBM's Deep Blue was when it beat the chess grand master.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. Wednesday announced that it reached a definitive agreement to acquire ParaGraph International, a company Kasparov helped found, for an undisclosed amount.
ParaGraph specializes in virtual reality and three-dimensional Web tools and software as well as pen-based technologies, such as the ones used in Apple Computer's Newton and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows CE.
The company will move operations from its Campbell, Calif. headquarters to Mountain View, Calif., home of Silicon Graphics.
ParaGraph was founded by Kasparov, Stepan Pachikov, who is now chairman of the firm, and a group of Russian scientists in 1989. It has facilities in Moscow as well as California and employs 90 scientists, engineers and digital artists. The company has projected its revenues will be $12 million this year.
The deal represents Silicon Graphics' latest move into the world of three-dimensional environments.
The two firms have already teamed up by bundling SGI's Cosmo Player virtual reality browser with ParaGraph's Internet3D authoring tools. While showing promise, virtual reality remains constrained on the Internet by low bandwidth.
Silicon Graphics recently announced it would undergo a reorganization to streamline operations in its core businesses.
--Randy Schultz
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