About Zea

Zea is for software developers and advanced manufacturers primarily in the automotive, aerospace, heavy machinery, and robotics industries who work with large complex 3D CAD assemblies and who are currently dissatisfied with the performance limitations and costs of existing CAD visualization tools. We provide a next-generation 3D web platform to leverage CAD assemblies for downstream applications such as technical publications, part catalogs, interactive client demos, collaboration with external partners, eLearning, and collaborative remote diagnosis. Our product is the only web-based 3D graphics engine capable of rendering huge assemblies, we're talking about assemblies over 20,000 parts, like cars, planes, etc., entirely in the browser at VR framerates. Unlike other tools, we have a secure cloud-based workflow and offer our platform’s services at 1/10 of the cost of the leading commercial web platform. Our tools are easy to use and combine the power, versatility, and reach of the web allowing our partners to reach their network wherever they are.

Over the past years and many conversations, we’ve discovered that teams facing the challenge of adding 3D support to their software lack critical knowledge in 3D graphics programming they need to be successful. Our transformative power is to remove those barriers by providing affordable low-code solutions to solve challenges preventing the downstream reuse of 3D CAD data.

WE MAKE 3D TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION FAST, EASY, AND OPEN

Our Mission

Provide the most extendable web-first 3D platform for developers solving next-generation problems

Our Vision

To Make 3D Technical Communication Fast, Easy, and Open

Principles

Everything we do is a reflection of these principles. 

  • Trust to build strong partnerships. We act with integrity, always.
  • Security and confidentiality to protect personal and corporate data.
  • Performance to power a new wave of web-applications. We continuously push ourselves, our partners, and our technology forward.

 

Our story

The idea to build Zea Engine was formed during a year-long camping vacation in New Zealand. Back then, we kept getting hired to solve the same 3D-related problems and soon discovered that all the 3D visualization tools were designed for video games, not CAD. 

Academic research papers highlighted that creating a real-time rendering engine right in the browser and rendering the visuals using the GPU would solve many of our client's problems. Needless to say that we figured out how to do it, and the results are extraordinary. 

Early validation came in 2018 through a pilot project in technical training for BRP that brought Philip and Michael together.

Today we're the provider of the world's most powerful web-based 3D visualization technology (CDRIN, 2021). We're also the only solution built specifically for CAD from the ground up. 

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Zea started as an idea camping in New Zealand

Meet our team

Philip Taylor | CEO, Founder

Philip Taylor

CEO, Founder

Philip Taylor is a serial entrepreneur with two successful exits behind him and now founder of Zea, a cloud platform for design visualization. With a diverse background covering documentary television production, film and video games, and also software development at large companies like Autodesk and Softimage, Phil has a unique skill set that makes him particularly versatile.

LinkedIn

Michael Smith | COO

Michael Smith

COO

Michael Smith is an advocate for using technology to increase productivity. From his early days as an automotive technician to managing training for BRP’s Powersport division, he has created a culture in the workplace that challenges the traditional ways of getting work done. Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in operations management from the John Molson School of Business (JMSB). He is a thought leader in the Canadian transportation industry where he shares his passion with like minded groups. He is a guest speaker for the Canadian Association of Motive Power Educators (CAMPE) and the North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT).

LinkedIn

Mauro Porras | Lead Infrastructure

Mauro Porras

Lead Infrastructure

Mauro brings with him 10 years of experience in producing and maintaining reliable web applications and is the mind behind Zea’s infrastructure. He is a TopTal qualified developer and has led agile teams in companies such as Globant and Netcentric, as well as working on projects for companies such as Autodesk.

Rob Haines | Product Designer

Rob Haines

Product Designer

Rob ensures that the Zea platform is beautiful, intuitive, and easy to use. Before joining Zea he worked as a UX designer on web apps and e-commerce sites and started his career as a 3D/technical artist on video games and virtual worlds.

Hafsa Nasrin | Digital Marketing and SEO Specialist

Hafsa Nasrin

Digital Marketing and SEO Specialist

Hafsa graduated with a Bachelor Of Arts (B.A) from the School of Communication and Culture at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia. She has attended over 200 professional case studies and projects at RRU related to Communication, where she received multiple rewards for her skills and dedicated learning nature. She is inquisitive, loves SEO, Communication, and Marketing in everyday settings, and applies her knowledge and passion to shape our data-driven story-insights to guide our marketing and SEO strategy.

Hafsa is a big fan of former CIA Officer Janson Hanson and his “Business Skill is a Spy Skill” formula and reads Harvard Business Reviews periodically. During her time off, she loves traveling, camping, photographing, crabbing, cooking, and sightseeing.

LinkedIn

Seiji Smith | Graphics Developer

Seiji Smith

Graphics Developer

Seiji graduated with a BSc. degree in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia. During his studies, he participated in team challenges where his team won multiple awards for their work including “Best Gameplay” and “Best Overall Game” as judged by UBC faculty.

He has a strong background in 3D animation, which lead him to develop his passion for Computer Graphics into a career at Zea as a Graphics Developer. He is also a part-time tinkerer and is listed as co-inventor on his latest patent-pending invention.