> but I think the biggest beneficiaries will be AI's
It's just another 3D file format, calm down ;)
There have been quite a few "standard" 3D file formats in the last 30 years (COLLADA, FBX, glTF, to name a few of the more popular ones, check here for a more complete list: https://github.com/assimp/assimp/tree/master/code/AssetLib), USD isn't anything special except that Apple is involved (which means you probably shouldn't put too much hope into the "Open" prefix, or at least expect that Apple jumps ship as soon as the first cracks start to show in the "alliance").
It's just another 3D file format, calm down ;)
There have been quite a few "standard" 3D file formats in the last 30 years (COLLADA, FBX, glTF, to name a few of the more popular ones, check here for a more complete list: https://github.com/assimp/assimp/tree/master/code/AssetLib), USD isn't anything special except that Apple is involved (which means you probably shouldn't put too much hope into the "Open" prefix, or at least expect that Apple jumps ship as soon as the first cracks start to show in the "alliance").