In 1993, mental images and Softimage Inc. of Montreal, Canada entered into a rendering technology agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Version 1.9 of mental ray was integrated into Version 3.0 of Softimage|3D. Softimage Inc. became a fully owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation in 1994; in 1999 it was acquired by Avid Technology, Inc.

In April 1999, Avid Technology, Inc. and mental images entered into a long term license and research and development agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, mental images provides Softimage with current and future versions of mental ray for integration into its current Softimage|XSI and future 3D content creation products. Version 1.0 of Softimage|XSI based on mental ray 2.1 was shipping in August 2000. Furthermore, mental ray standalone is made available as a separate product through Avid/Softimage and selected distributors worldwide.