Aodyo Instruments is bankrupt and ceases operation on Nov 1: the official statement

On Kickstarter, Aodyo Instruments shared information about ongoing challenges with Omega polysynth and Look development and possible bankruptcy.

Now it’s official. Aodyo Instruments is bankrupt and in liquidation. They will cease operation on November 1st, 2024. Here is the official statement

Dear backers,

First and foremost, we want to express our sincere apologies for this prolonged silence. It was never our intention to ignore your concerns, but we were working tirelessly to explore every possible solution that could allow us to continue our operations and deliver on the projects you supported. We understand your frustration and disappointment with the lack of communication and transparency over the past few months. We know you were expecting updates from us, and we regret not living up to your expectations.

The truth is that we have been going through a very challenging period since the safeguard procedure was initiated on the June 24. This legal process was supposed to help us restructure and avoid bankruptcy, but it also required us not to disclose any information that could discourage potential investors or buyers.

During the summer, we continued to work on the Loom and Omega, convinced that we would find a solution. Unfortunately, our efforts did not succeed, and we are now forced to announce what some of you may already know: Aodyo Instruments is now in liquidation.

This means that the company will cease its operations on November 1st, and that a court-appointed liquidator is overseeing the process of closing the company and managing its remaining assets to repay creditors.
We understand that this is a hard blow, and although there are details we are not at liberty to disclose due to our legal situation, we want to try and address the key concerns you raised during these last few weeks.

What happened

The Loom campaign was not a distraction, but is indeed a part of the Omega project.
We launched the campaign at a time when the Omega project was facing significant delays. Our goal was to highlight the progress we had made and to generate enough revenue to ensure the company’s sustainability. We sincerely believed that after shipping all our backers, the in-store sales of Loom would allow us to finish the Omega project.

In the end, Loom was ready for production, but we did not forecast the much increased production costs and lead times partly due to sourcing difficulties for some components. The company didn’t have the cash flow necessary to stomach the increased costs and delays. Moreover, after entering the safeguard procedure, we were prohibited from negotiating payment terms with suppliers.

At the time, we had other reasons to believe that these projects would continue smoothly, as we were on the verge of closing a significant fundraising round with investors, who ultimately withdrew. Additionally, we had initiated valuation discussions for some of our technologies with other industry players, but unfortunately we did not have enough time to finalize these contracts.

Just like Loom, Anyma V is not a new product but a milestone in the Omega project that allowed us to figure out the challenging topic of synth voice management. We also made sure that all contributors from both campaigns could receive a free license*, even though it wasn’t what they initially contributed for, to at least deliver a small part of the Omega project, or a welcome complement to the Loom, while waiting for the hardware to be produced.

Our financial situation

The total amount raised for the Loom and Omega campaigns was 319 383 € for Omega and 177 833 € for Loom, including contributions from both Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Some contributions were not honored, and crowdfunding platforms charge commissions and banking fees, over which we have no control. In addition, running the campaign incurred costs for content creation (including the campaign video), advertising, prototype production, etc.

We also had to invest in components to be able to secure critical parts. However, not all parts were in stock, so we were left with a significantly impacted cash flow without being able to start production right away, as we had no additional funding between the end of the Loom campaign in April and when we were ready to start production in June.

The solutions we considered

We explored all possible solutions to save both projects, but none were successful.

Several backers have suggested that we open-source the code for Loom and Anyma Omega so that the community can continue working on them. Unfortunately, this is not possible because the code is part of the company’s assets, which we needed to preserve in case of a potential takeover, and which we cannot legally transfer since the safeguard procedure because it could help repay creditors during liquidation.
If a buyer acquires these projects, they will decide whether to open-source the code or continue development under different terms.

We did not consider a new crowdfunding campaign possible either. Given the lack of trust and the precarious financial situation of the company, it was unlikely that such a campaign would succeed. Moreover, the time required to organize and run a new campaign would have worsened our financial situation.

Finally, we do not have enough stock of existing products (Sylphyo and Anyma Phi) to be able to compensate all contributors fairly, even in part.

What will happen from now on

As we detailed in our previous communication, most of the campaign funds were spent on product development. Today, the company has no cash flow and is under the liquidator’s control. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that contributors will recover their investment.

For the next two weeks leading up to November 1st, Aodyo will continue operating as usual, and we will remain available via our regular contact email for any urgent inquiries regarding Anyma V or other matters.
Before closing permanently on November 1st, we will send out one final update with a link to an archive of our website (which will remain accessible for one year) and instructions on how to continue activating Anyma V licenses after closure.

The entire Aodyo team deeply regrets this situation. We have invested 10 years of our lives into this venture, and we are fully aware of how disappointing this is for you.

Should a buyer come forward to the commercial court, they will decide whether to continue or not with the projects. We will do everything possible to fulfill our moral duty to you if a recovery occurs.

Once again, we want to thank you all for your support throughout this journey. We understand how disappointing this situation is for everyone involved—including us—and we deeply regret that things have come to this point.

Thank you again for your understanding,
The Aodyo team

* We received several messages from people who did not receive a mail with their coupon code to our shop for access to their free Anyma V license. If this is your case, please contact us at support@aodyo.com.

Article From October 21, 2024

The Aodyo Instruments teams announced they had financial problems almost a month ago. Since then, there has been radio silence. Frank, a project backer, has investigated the company’s current situation. Behind a paywall of the French government (10€), he got official documents showing more details, which aren’t positive.

According to them, the insolvency procedure was already started in court on June 24, 2024, and the company had time to submit any claim within two months.

Another document that the backer received from an Insolvency Practitioner appointed by the French court says:

Current status of the procedure 

Conversion of the safeguard procedure into judicial liquidation pronounced: on 15/10/2024 

Date of cessation of payments: 15/10/2024

Safeguard procedure pronounced on 24/06/2024 published in the bodacc on 03/07/2024.

I’m not a legal expert, but I understand this is bad news because it means that Aodyo Instruments has stopped operating and is ceasing payments. Of course, there is still hope that another company will buy it and continue the work, but there is very little. So, they are now bankrupt. 

That’s not all. These documents reveal that the company has had financial problems for some time. This was already the case after the Loom Kickstarter campaign, which started in March 2024. Three months later, in June, the insolvency proceedings were already filed.

Starting a Kickstarter campaign knowing that the company is on the brink is irresponsible and shows bad management. Communication failed just as badly. In their monthly updates, they pretended everything was fine even though the walls were slowly collapsing. 

This new information reveals major problems within the company structure, including mismanagement, miscommunication with backers, etc. It’s sad that it ends like this.

I’m sure these events will also influence upcoming new Kickstarters in the synth world. People will probably be less enthusiastic about investing in new projects. 

Source

Article From September 26, 2022

At the end of 2022, the small French Boutique company Aodyo Instruments raised money for the Anyma Omega, a super exciting multi-timbral polyphonic physical modeling synth. I was so impressed by the project that I invested 1000€  in the project myself for the keyboard version. 

They shared their progress on Kickstarter, where they raised 218k, plus additional funds on Indiegogo. However, they have also experienced setbacks in the past, such as a lack of components. Today, this is a big disappointment and shock for all supporters.

Aodyo Instruments

In a new statement on Kickstarter, they share severe financial problems due to ongoing challenges with developing both products.  

In the spirit of transparency and honesty, we want to share the challenges we are facing and provide a clear picture of where we stand.

Over the past months, we’ve encountered significant difficulties with both the Loom and Omega projects, which have severely impacted our financial situation

Loom: The production costs and delays we encountered have turned out to be much higher than we initially anticipated. Due to extended lead times for the electronic components from our manufacturer, we have been unable to launch production.

Omega: The system’s complexity has far exceeded what we originally planned. The powerful nature of this synthesizer required multithreading due to the characteristics of the processors available on the market. We also faced setbacks from architectural changes necessitated by component shortages. These combined factors have led to much longer delays than expected.

We had hoped to raise additional funds by leveraging the campaign’s momentum, but unfortunately, this effort has not been successful. As a result, we are now in a difficult financial position and have been unable to secure the working capital necessary to move forward.

 

As you can read from the statement, developing the Aodyo Instruments Loom and Anyma Omega took more time, resources, and money than planned for the initial campaign. The developers also shared their work in the last months/year.

Over the last few months, we have focused our efforts on finding potential investors or buyers to help us unlock the situation. Unfortunately, we have not been successful so far. That said, we are still in discussions with a couple of potential partners, and we hope this message might spark new opportunities.

In the meantime, we’ve been continuing our operations by selling off our existing stock of Sylphyo and Anyma Phi, which is why we launched the summer promotions. These products have been in the market for some time, and the revenue from selling our stock has allowed us to keep going for a little longer.

Additionally, the work on the Anyma V allowed us to make progress on the polyphonic synthesis part of the Omega project and MPE support. It has also brought in some additional revenue to keep on working. And it allowed us to deliver an intermediate milestone to you as well.

The situation Aodyo Instruments is currently in is very serious. To be as transparent as possible, they have also shared a list of where the Kickstarter/Indiegogo funds went:

Loom Campaign:

• Platform, currency and bank transfer fees (9%).
• Marketing performance-based fees (13%).
• Purchase of components to secure stock (14%).
• Industrial design of the circuit boards (22%).
• Industrial design of the mechanical parts (4%).
• Final prototyping (14%).
• Development of the embedded firmware (25%).

Omega Campaign:

• Platform, currency and bank transfer fees (10%).
• Marketing performance-based fees (11%).
• Purchase of components to secure stock (9%).
• Charges to the circuit boards due to component shortages (display, touch, and DSP processors) (10%)
• Industrial design of the circuit boards (37%).
• Industrial design of the mechanical parts (8%).
• Development of the embedded firmware (22%).

Given that the funds have been used entirely to advance these projects, we regret to inform you that a refund of your contributions is unfortunately impossible at this stage.

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Yes, everyone who invested money in the project will no longer see their money. It has already been spent on the development. Damn! 

Aodyo Instruments Bankruptcy

According to Aoydo Instruments, the business operations can continue, but with a big question mark. They urgently need money and an investor; otherwise, they will file for bankruptcy.

Our sales of remaining stock should allow us to continue our operations. During this time, we will continue doing everything we can to secure an investor and unblock the situation. If we can manage to start the first batch of Loom, this would allow us to deliver to stores right after fulfilling your pledges, stabilizing our situation and enabling us to finish the Omega development.

However, if we do not succeed in securing new investments or partnerships in the coming weeks, we will be left with no other choice but to file for bankruptcy.

We know this is not the message you were hoping for, and we share your frustration. We want to express our deepest gratitude for your support and belief in our vision, and we remain hopeful that a solution can be found.

Thank you again for your understanding and support during this difficult time.

My 2 pennies

Phew, I’m shocked by this news. I had high hopes for the project because I’ve been in good, friendly contact with the developers for a long time. And when they told me that a polyphonic Anyma Phi was coming, I was immediately interested because I was waiting for something like that.

Now, after two years, I am disillusioned and probably have lost my investment of 1000€ —money that I had put into an exciting project with plannings for future video content. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the developers will find investors to help them at the last minute.

It’s a shame for the project, the developers, and the money. As a one-man show, a 1000€ loss is pretty tough. 

More information here: Kickstarter 

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