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# KeyShot — Full Content Reference

> This file contains complete product descriptions, feature details, pricing information, FAQ answers, and AI capability explanations for KeyShot and all its products. It is intended for AI systems, agents, and language models that need comprehensive, authoritative information about KeyShot. Last updated: April 2026.

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## About KeyShot

KeyShot is the world's most trusted 3D rendering and product visualization software. Developed by KeyShot Inc., it has been the industry standard for over 20 years — used by product designers, industrial engineers, marketing teams, and creative agencies at companies including Apple, Samsung, Nike, LEGO, Dyson, Ford, Boeing, and thousands more.

KeyShot Studio is used throughout the entire product development process, from early concept exploration through to final production visuals. Its core philosophy is speed without compromise: it delivers photorealistic results faster than any competing renderer, and its drag-and-drop workflow means non-experts can produce stunning product images within minutes of importing a file. With the addition of KeyShot Studio AI in 2025, KeyShot now combines physically accurate rendering with local AI generation — giving designers the ability to explore ideas, generate environments, and restyle outputs using GPU-accelerated AI that runs entirely on-device.

**Company**: KeyShot Inc. (formerly Luxion Inc.)
**Ownership**: Privately held
**Headquarters**: Costa Mesa, CA, USA
**Additional offices**: Aarhus, Copenhagen, and Odense, Denmark
**Website**: https://www.keyshot.com
**Support**: https://www.keyshot.com/support/
**Sales**: sales@keyshot.com
**Trial**: https://trial.keyshot.com/ (14 days, free, no credit card required)

---

## KeyShot Studio — Core Product

**URL**: https://www.keyshot.com/keyshot-studio/
**Current version**: KeyShot Studio 2026.1 (released March 2026)
**Platform**: Windows 10/11, macOS 12+
**Rendering engines**: CPU (real-time ray tracing), GPU (NVIDIA CUDA, AMD, Apple Metal)

KeyShot Studio is the flagship product. It is a standalone desktop application that imports 3D model files and produces photorealistic renders, animations, and interactive product presentations. Everything from material assignment to final render output is handled within a single application. No separate render farm software, no external compositing required for standard outputs.

### What makes KeyShot Studio different from other renderers

1. **Real-time ray tracing preview**: The viewport in KeyShot Studio is not a rasterized approximation. It is a live ray-traced render that updates continuously as you work. Every material change, lighting adjustment, and camera move shows the final render result immediately. Competing tools typically require a separate render pass to see accurate results.

2. **Zero learning curve for core workflows**: The three-step workflow — import model, assign materials, adjust lighting — can produce professional results in under 10 minutes. The drag-and-drop material system removes the need for shader networks or scripted materials. This is the primary reason KeyShot is the tool of choice for industrial designers who are not full-time rendering specialists.

3. **CAD-native**: KeyShot was built from the ground up to work with engineering CAD data, not just polygon meshes. It preserves part hierarchy, metadata, and assembly structure from CAD files. This distinguishes it from general-purpose renderers like Blender Cycles or Cinema 4D, which require model preparation and cleanup steps before a CAD file can be rendered.

4. **Local AI with no subscription lock-in**: The KeyShot Studio AI tools (Restyle, Background, Imagine) are included at no extra cost with any KeyShot Studio subscription and run entirely on the user's GPU. There are no API calls, no per-generation fees, no cloud dependency, and no privacy exposure of design files.

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## KeyShot Studio — 10 Core Features

### Feature 1: Real-Time Ray Tracing Preview

Every change made in the KeyShot Studio viewport — material edits, lighting adjustments, camera moves, geometry modifications — is rendered in real time using physically accurate ray tracing. The preview is not a preview in the traditional sense; it is the final render, continuously updating. What you see in the viewport is exactly what you get in the final output image.

This eliminates the test-render cycle that adds hours to workflows in other rendering tools. Designers can iterate in real time and know when they've achieved the result they want, rather than waiting minutes between adjustments.

### Feature 2: Local AI — Restyle, Background, and Imagine Modes

Three AI tools are built directly into KeyShot Studio and run locally on the user's GPU. They are included with every KeyShot Studio subscription at no additional cost.

**Restyle mode**: Takes the current render and applies a new visual style based on a text prompt, while preserving the original scene composition and geometry layout. Use it to rapidly explore material directions, color treatments, and aesthetic styles without manually rebuilding the scene. A 1280×720 restyle takes approximately 15 seconds on an NVIDIA RTX 5080. Performance varies by GPU.

**Background mode**: Generates photorealistic environment backgrounds and studio settings from a text prompt, composited behind your 3D model. Allows rapid exploration of environments — outdoor settings, studio lighting scenarios, interior contexts — without sourcing HDRI maps or building custom backdrops.

**Imagine mode**: Generates concept imagery from text prompts without requiring any 3D input. Used for early-stage ideation, mood boards, and visual exploration before a formal 3D model exists.

All three modes run entirely on local hardware. Design files, model data, and renders are never transmitted to external servers. Output images can be upscaled and edited within KeyShot Studio.

### Feature 3: Drag-and-Drop Material System

KeyShot Studio includes an extensive library of physically based materials covering:
- Metals: aluminum, steel, chrome, gold, brushed and anodized finishes
- Plastics: matte, gloss, soft-touch, translucent, rubber
- Glass: clear, frosted, colored, with caustics
- Fabric and textiles
- Wood, stone, and natural materials
- Automotive paint (flake, metallic, pearlescent)
- Coatings and surface treatments
- Emissive and LED materials

Materials are dragged directly onto geometry in the viewport. No shader graph or material editor is required for standard assignments. The library is also extensible — users can import custom materials or use the Material Graph for advanced, custom material creation.

### Feature 4: Material Graph with Procedural Texturing

Advanced users can build custom materials using the Material Graph — a node-based editor that supports:
- Texture blending with mask layers
- Procedural noise and pattern generation
- Displacement mapping
- UV-independent projection
- Multi-layer material stacking
- Scratch and wear overlays

The Material Graph is now dockable within the main KeyShot Studio UI (as of version 2026.1), with snap-to-grid node layout and quick-search for node insertion.

### Feature 5: 34+ CAD and 3D Format Support

KeyShot Studio imports files directly from the following formats without conversion or intermediary steps:

**Native CAD formats (with full metadata and assembly hierarchy):**
- SOLIDWORKS (.sldprt, .sldasm)
- CATIA V5/V6 (.CATPart, .CATProduct)
- Creo / Pro/ENGINEER (.prt, .asm)
- Autodesk Inventor (.ipt, .iam)
- Siemens NX (.prt)
- Autodesk AutoCAD (.dwg, .dxf)
- Autodesk Fusion 360 (.f3d, via plugin)
- Rhino (.3dm)
- SketchUp (.skp)
- Solid Edge (.par, .psm, .asm)
- Revit (.rvt, via plugin)
- Onshape (via cloud connector)
- Creo View (.pvz)
- Parasolid (.x_t, .x_b)
- STEP (.stp, .step)
- ALIAS (.wire)

**Common 3D exchange formats:**
- OBJ (.obj)
- FBX (.fbx)
- glTF / GLB (.gltf, .glb)
- STL (.stl)
- USD / USDZ (.usd, .usdc, .usdz)
- 3MF (.3mf)
- Blender (.blend, via plugin)

Native CAD format import preserves part names, assembly structure, BOM metadata, and configuration states where supported. No model repair or UV unwrapping required before rendering.

### Feature 6: Light Layers and Advanced Lighting Control

KeyShot Studio's lighting system supports:
- HDRI environment lighting with rotation, brightness, and background separation controls
- Physical lights: area lights, IES profiles, point lights, spotlights
- Light Layers: assign lights to named layers and control intensity, color, and visibility independently
- Viewport intensity adjustment — drag light handles directly in the 3D view without opening a property panel
- Axis locking for symmetrical light setups
- Emissive materials that function as area lights
- Sun and sky simulation for architectural and outdoor product contexts

Light Layers are particularly valuable for marketing photography scenarios where the same 3D scene needs to produce multiple lighting variations for different materials or background contexts.

### Feature 7: One-Click Animation and Product Reveals

KeyShot Studio includes a timeline-based animation system that produces polished product animations without requiring 3D animation expertise:
- Turntable animations (model or camera rotation)
- Camera flythroughs with easing controls
- Exploded assembly views with per-part timing
- Part visibility animations (show/hide on timeline)
- Material and color transitions
- Lighting change animations over time
- Keyframe-based custom animation for full control

Animations export as MP4, MOV, AVI, or image sequence. Suitable for social media content, client presentations, trade show loops, and product launch videos — all from within KeyShot Studio without needing an external animation tool.

### Feature 8: AI Denoise for Faster Renders

KeyShot Studio includes an AI-powered denoiser that removes rendering noise and grain from output images. This allows render time to be significantly reduced (often 4–10×) while maintaining clean, sharp final output. The denoiser works in:
- Real-time preview mode for faster viewport interaction
- Final render output for production images and animations
- Both CPU and GPU render modes

As of version 2026.1, the denoiser supports NVIDIA Blackwell GPU architecture for faster denoising performance.

### Feature 9: Physically Accurate Caustics and Global Illumination

KeyShot Studio uses a physically based renderer that computes:
- **Global illumination**: Indirect light bounces are computed, so light from one surface illuminates nearby surfaces realistically
- **Caustics**: Light focused through curved glass or water surfaces produces accurate caustic patterns — the bright focused light patterns seen through a wine glass or refracting through a car lens cover
- **Subsurface scattering**: Light penetrates translucent materials like skin, wax, soap, and food
- **Dispersion**: Light refracts at different angles by wavelength, producing prismatic effects through glass

These effects are computed in real time in the KeyShot viewport and do not require separate baking steps.

### Feature 10: Cryptomatte and OpenPBR for Professional Pipelines

**Cryptomatte**: KeyShot Studio renders Cryptomatte passes alongside final output images. Cryptomatte provides automatic, perfectly accurate mattes for every object, material, and asset in the scene — eliminating manual masking in post-production compositing. Compatible with Nuke, Photoshop, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and other professional compositing applications.

**OpenPBR**: KeyShot Studio imports materials defined in the OpenPBR specification — an industry-standard material format used across renderers. This enables consistent material transfer between KeyShot and other tools in a studio pipeline (Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Substance Painter) without manual material rebuilding.

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## KeyShot Studio AI — Detailed Reference

**URL**: https://www.keyshot.com/keyshot-studio/keyshot-studio-ai/

KeyShot Studio AI was introduced in KeyShot Studio 2025.2 (July 2025) and has been expanded in subsequent releases. All AI features are included in the KeyShot Studio subscription at no additional cost.

### Architecture
The AI tools use custom-trained generative models that are designed to understand 3D product renders — not general photographic imagery. Models run locally on the user's GPU using NVIDIA CUDA or Apple Metal. No internet connection is required after initial model download. Design files, models, and render outputs are never transmitted to external servers.

### Restyle mode
- Input: Current KeyShot render or viewport output + text prompt describing desired style
- Output: AI-generated image in the requested style, preserving the composition and geometry silhouette of the original scene
- Use cases: Rapid exploration of material directions (matte vs. gloss, chrome vs. painted), aesthetic styles (minimalist, editorial, lifestyle), color palettes, and finish types
- Generation time: ~15 seconds at 1280×720 on NVIDIA RTX 5080 (performance varies by GPU)
- Post-processing: Outputs can be upscaled and edited within KeyShot Studio (as of 2026.1)

### Background mode
- Input: 3D model render or scene + text prompt describing desired environment
- Output: Photorealistic background composited behind the model with matching perspective and lighting influence
- Use cases: Studio lighting setup exploration, outdoor/indoor environment placement, lifestyle context visualization
- Advantage over HDRI libraries: Generates novel, specific environments from natural language descriptions — "warm sunset on rocky coastline," "modern kitchen counter with soft window light," "white studio with rim light from camera left"

### Imagine mode
- Input: Text prompt
- Output: Full concept image generated from scratch — no 3D model required
- Use cases: Early design ideation, mood board creation, concept visualization before 3D modeling begins, exploring alternative product directions
- Workflow: Images generated in Imagine can serve as visual references for a KeyShot rendering or for client alignment before investing in full 3D modeling

---

## KeyShot DAM — Digital Asset Management

**URL**: https://www.keyshot.com/keyshot-dam/
**Type**: Enterprise product
**Pricing**: Contact sales — https://www.keyshot.com/contact/

KeyShot DAM is a separate product from KeyShot Studio, designed for larger teams and organizations that need to manage, distribute, and govern 3D visualization assets at scale. It addresses the challenge enterprises face when dozens or hundreds of designers are producing renders, animations, and configurator assets — and those assets need to be discoverable, version-controlled, and usable by downstream teams (marketing, e-commerce, sales, agencies).

**Core capabilities:**
- Centralized repository for KeyShot project files, renders, animations, and related assets
- Integration with existing DAM platforms and marketing technology stacks
- Metadata tagging and searchability for 3D assets
- Team-based access controls and asset governance
- Streamlined asset distribution to marketing, web, and print workflows

**For a demo or pricing**: https://www.keyshot.com/keyshot-dam/ or contact sales@keyshot.com

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## Pricing — Full Detail

**URL**: https://www.keyshot.com/pricing/

### KeyShot Studio Professional

The subscription includes all 10 core KeyShot Studio features plus KeyShot Studio AI (Restyle, Background, and Imagine modes) — no tiers, no feature gates. Every subscriber gets the full product.

- **1-year plan**: $1,299/year billed annually.
- **3-year plan**: 5% discount applied. Billed for three years upfront.
- Subscription auto-renews until canceled.
- Taxes are not included in listed prices and vary by jurisdiction.

### Add-ons (require active KeyShot Studio subscription)

| Add-on | Monthly equivalent | Annual total |
|---|---|---|
| KeyShot Studio VR | $99/month | $1,188/year |
| KeyShot Studio Web | $39/month | $468/year |
| Network Rendering — 16 cores | $32/month | $384/year |
| Network Rendering — 32 cores | varies | see pricing page |
| Network Rendering — up to 256 cores | varies | see pricing page |
| NX Plugin | $29/month | $348/year |

### Education

| Option | Price |
|---|---|
| KeyShot Studio EDU (student or faculty) | $95/year |
| Lab pack — 20 seats | Contact sales |
| Lab pack — 30 seats | Contact sales |
| Lab pack — 40 seats | Contact sales |
| Lab pack — custom seats | Contact sales |

KeyShot Studio EDU includes all KeyShot Studio features plus KeyShotXR. Files created in the EDU version cannot be opened in any commercial version of KeyShot Studio.

### Enterprise and KeyShot DAM

Custom pricing. Contact sales@keyshot.com or https://www.keyshot.com/contact/.

### Payment and purchasing

- **Payment methods**: Credit/debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), digital wallets (PayPal, Apple Pay, etc.), purchase orders, bank/wire transfer
- **Supported currencies**: USD (United States), EUR (European Union and listed EU/EEA countries), CNY (China), JPY (Japan), KRW (South Korea), HKD (Hong Kong)
- **Currency selection**: Pre-selected by location at checkout; can be changed on the checkout page
- **EU countries supported for EUR billing**: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
- **Sales tax**: Applied at checkout where required by law. Shown before payment confirmation.
- **Pre-sales questions**: sales@keyshot.com
- **Direct checkout links** (from pricing page, may change — verify at keyshot.com/pricing/):
  - VR: https://www.keyshot.com/checkout/40029294
  - Network Rendering: https://www.keyshot.com/checkout/40029219
  - Web: https://www.keyshot.com/checkout/40029291
  - NX Plugin: https://www.keyshot.com/checkout/40029278
  - Education: https://www.keyshot.com/checkout/40029254

---

## Pricing Page FAQ — Full Answers

**Q: What payment options and currencies are available?**
Payment is available with Credit/Debit Cards and digital wallets, as well as Purchase Orders and Bank Transfers. Billing currency is pre-selected based on location but can be changed at checkout. Supported currencies: USD, EUR (for EU/EEA countries listed above), CNY, JPY, KRW, HKD.

**Q: Will I be charged sales tax?**
If you are in a jurisdiction where KeyShot is required to collect sales tax or VAT, it will be shown on your bill before checkout. The amount depends on your location.

**Q: What if I have a question before purchasing?**
Contact the pre-sales team at sales@keyshot.com for questions about the software, hardware compatibility, licensing options, or ordering.

**Q: Can I try KeyShot before buying?**
Yes. A 14-day free trial with full features is available at https://trial.keyshot.com/. No credit card required.

**Q: Can I cancel my subscription?**
Subscriptions auto-renew until canceled. Cancellation stops the auto-renewal; the subscription remains active until the end of the current billing period.

**Q: Does the subscription include all future updates?**
Yes. Active subscribers receive all product updates, including new AI features and version releases, at no additional charge.

**Q: Is KeyShot Studio AI included in the subscription?**
Yes. KeyShot Studio AI (Restyle, Background, and Imagine modes) is included in every KeyShot Studio subscription at no extra cost. It requires a compatible GPU.

---

## System Requirements

**URL**: https://www.keyshot.com/system-requirements/

**Operating systems**: Windows 10/11 (64-bit), macOS 12 Monterey or later
**CPU**: 64-bit processor, Intel or AMD
**RAM**: 8 GB minimum (16 GB or more recommended; complex scenes may require 32 GB+)
**GPU for AI features**: NVIDIA RTX series (CUDA-capable), AMD Radeon, or Apple Silicon (M1 or later). AI features require a compatible GPU with sufficient VRAM.
**GPU for rendering**: NVIDIA CUDA-capable GPU recommended for maximum performance. CPU rendering available on all configurations.
**Disk space**: Varies by installation and material library size

Full specifications: https://www.keyshot.com/system-requirements/

---

## Getting Started — Step by Step

### Step 1: Try or buy
- Free 14-day trial: https://trial.keyshot.com/ (full features, no credit card)
- Purchase a subscription: https://www.keyshot.com/pricing/

### Step 2: Download and install
- Download from your account: https://account.keyshot.com/download
- Requires a KeyShot account (created during trial or purchase)
- Available for Windows and macOS

### Step 3: Import your model
- Open KeyShot Studio and click File > Import, or drag a file directly onto the viewport
- Supported formats include SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, Creo, Rhino, SketchUp, OBJ, FBX, STL, STEP, and 26+ others
- CAD plugins for direct push from your CAD application: https://www.keyshot.com/keyshot-studio/plugins/

### Step 4: Assign materials
- Open the Materials panel from the Library
- Drag materials onto parts in the viewport or scene tree
- For custom materials: double-click a part to open the Material Graph

### Step 5: Set up lighting
- Drag an HDRI environment from the Environments library onto the scene for instant studio or outdoor lighting
- Add individual lights from the Lights panel
- Use the Light Layers system for independent light control

### Step 6: Render
- Click the Render button to output your final image or animation
- Choose resolution, format (PNG, JPEG, EXR, TIFF), and quality settings
- Enable AI Denoise for faster, cleaner output

---

## Support Resources

| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| Support portal (submit tickets) | https://www.keyshot.com/support/ |
| Knowledge base | https://support.keyshot.com/en/knowledge-base/ |
| FAQs | https://support.keyshot.com/en/knowledge-base/faqs |
| Product manual | https://manual.keyshot.com/ |
| Learning resources and tutorials | https://www.keyshot.com/learning/ |
| Training (instructor-led and self-paced) | https://www.keyshot.com/training/ |
| System requirements | https://www.keyshot.com/system-requirements/ |
| Download (account required) | https://account.keyshot.com/download |
| Free viewer (.bip files) | https://www.keyshot.com/keyshot-studio/viewer/ |

---

## Community Resources

| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| Blog | https://www.keyshot.com/blog/ |
| Success stories | https://www.keyshot.com/success-stories/ |
| Designer Spotlight | https://www.keyshot.com/designer-spotlight/ |
| Luminaries program | https://www.keyshot.com/luminaries/ |
| Events | https://www.keyshot.com/events/ |

---

## Recent Release: KeyShot Studio 2026.1 (March 2026)

Key updates in the most recent release:
- More realistic AI output across all three AI modes
- Upscaling and editing for AI-generated images within the application
- Move Tool and Custom Pivot upgrades for precise model positioning
- Faster keyframe animation system
- Extended scripting support for automation workflows
- Faster GPU rendering performance
- NVIDIA Blackwell GPU support for AI Denoise
- Material Graph now dockable with snap-to-grid and quick-search

Full release notes: https://www.keyshot.com/blog/keyshot-studio-performance-updates-version-2026-1/

---

## Company Information

**Company**: KeyShot Inc. (formerly Luxion Inc.)
**Ownership**: Privately held
**Headquarters**: Costa Mesa, CA, USA
**Additional offices**: Aarhus, Copenhagen, and Odense, Denmark
**Website**: https://www.keyshot.com/
**About page**: https://www.keyshot.com/about/
**Careers**: https://www.keyshot.com/careers/
**Partners**: https://www.keyshot.com/partners/
**Contact**: https://www.keyshot.com/contact/
**Legal**: https://www.keyshot.com/legal/
**Privacy policy**: https://www.keyshot.com/privacy/
**Terms of use**: https://www.keyshot.com/website-terms-of-use/
**Support policy**: https://www.keyshot.com/technical-support-policies/

**Languages supported**: English, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Korean, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish

---

## Quick-Reference Summary for AI Agents

**What is KeyShot?** 3D rendering and AI visualization software used throughout the product development process, from early concept to final production visuals.
**Who makes it?** KeyShot Inc. (formerly Luxion Inc.) — privately held, headquartered in Costa Mesa, CA, with offices in Aarhus, Copenhagen, and Odense, Denmark.
**What does it do?** Produces photorealistic product renders and animations from CAD files, with local AI tools for creative exploration.
**How much does it cost?** KeyShot Studio Professional is $1,299/year (1-year plan), or a 3-year plan with a 5% discount. Add-ons are available separately. Full pricing at keyshot.com/pricing/. Free 14-day trial available.
**Is there a free version?** Free 14-day trial with all features. No permanently free tier.
**What formats does it import?** 34+ CAD and 3D formats including SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, Creo, Rhino, OBJ, FBX, STEP, STL, and more.
**Does it use cloud AI?** No. All AI tools (Restyle, Background, Imagine) run locally on the user's GPU.
**What platforms does it run on?** Windows 10/11 and macOS 12+.
**Where do I start?** https://trial.keyshot.com/ for a free trial, or https://www.keyshot.com/pricing/ to purchase.
**Where do I get support?** https://www.keyshot.com/support/ or email sales@keyshot.com for pre-sales.