On Kickstarter, Aodyo Instruments shared information about ongoing challenges with Omega polysynth and Look development and possible bankruptcy.
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.
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.
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
A decision I made to calm things down.
When a project like this fails, emotions arise from many sides: those who support the product and have now lost money, the people who followed the project but did not invest, but also people who just want to give their opinion on it.
These emotions can contribute to communication or not. The fact that I attacked someone like two people accused and questioned what was going on in their life went too far. Sorry for that!
You can see that the recent events related to the project also triggered emotions in me and led me to do thing that I wouldn’t normally do.
I accept all opinions, whether you are for, against or neutral. Everything is welcome. As long as it is conveyed in a pleasant and friendly manner. This already starts with using a user name that is not looking to cause trouble. For this reason, no user names that feel they have to be aggressive will be accepted.
I want this to be a peaceful space where users feel comfortable. I also deleted the comments, including mine, to tame the whole topic. You could be against it, I’ll gladly accept the criticism, but it’s better. This comment thread has lost its way and has gone in the wrong direction.
Sorry that this happened. See you soon for more good conversations.