Kolor closed, Autopano & other tools discontinued

I was disappointed to learn recently that software developer Kolor, which had been acquired by GoPro in 2015, shut down abruptly last month (September). All of the Kolor-developed tools were highly capable and highly regarded. Unfortunately, it appears none of them will survive. Kolor founder Alexandre Jenny said he undertook discussions with GoPro management to see if Kolor could be spun back out of GoPro, but ultimately those discussions could not come to fruition for whatever reasons.

There's some thought that GoPro's financial woes, which ironically came to light around the time of the Kolor acquisition, spelled the end of the software subsidiary -- trimming the balance sheet of non-core operations and their costs. Whatever the reason, it's another in a long line of small but distinguished tool makers being acquired by a much bigger company, only to have their technology killed off. I was nervous when the GoPro acquisition happened but after 3 years thought perhaps this combination could work over a longer term. Apparently not.

Autopano Pro and Autopano Giga were my go-to stitching tools for many years, and it's very disappointing that they have ceased. I'll keep using AP as long as I can but at some point I'll have to switch to something that's still supported. Likely that will be PTGui. At least there are good stitching alternatives out there. People using Kolor's 360 and virtual tour tools have a much more difficult transition ahead of them.

For now, the latest versions of the Kolor tools are still available on the Kolor web site for existing owners to download the latest updates which can still be activated with existing license keys. No new sales of the tools, or upgrades which require new license keys, are possible any longer. Presumably the Kolor web site will be shut down soon and that will be it for a 14 year run of great tools.

If any of you own any Kolor tools, go to the web site now and download the last updates if you don't already have them.

http://www.kolor.com/

What a pity !
I really like autopano, and they have some pretty cool features. Sure, the software hadn't gotten any serious updates in a while, but I liked it.
Will continue to use it until it doesnt work anymore...

I'm still using v 2.6 of APP; it's now impossible to upgrade (though I confess I had no plans to do so when it was announced that support had ended). I'll continue using the software until it won't function anymore.

I hate to hear this! I have always gotten excellent results from APP. Of course, I don't know the details of GoPro's financial woes, but it kinda sounds like another case of corporate arrogance buying more than they could chew, with the punishment being felt by the poor employees of Kolor while the top execs at GoPro are embarrassed by unscathed. Just guessing on all that, of course, but we've seen those stories so often over the years.