Dirk Ulrich reacquires Plugin Alliance and Brainworks from inMusic, returning them to the original founder.
There has been a lot of movement surrounding Native Instruments in recent months. Following the company’s insolvency at the beginning of the year, inMusic acquired it. This was announced at Superbooth 2026, but not entirely.
At the beginning of July, Boris FX announced the acquisition of iZotope. Okay, but what will happen to Plugin Alliance and Brainworx? What was already in the air is now official and somehow no surprise.
Dirk Ulrich Plugin Alliance Brainworx
In 2011, Dirk Ulrich founded the Plugin Alliance and later formed a larger alliance with Native Instruments. This mission failed, and NI went bankrupt. Now, both companies have new owners, let’s say an old owner.
Dirk Ulrich, the founder of both companies, has reacquired Plugin Alliance and Brainworx from inMusic, the owner of Native Instruments. This means that all companies that were part of the short-term NI alliance are now under new ownership.
I’m proud to share that on July 15, 2026, I have re-acquired Brainworx and Plugin Alliance under the umbrella of RCKFRC, my new company which already includes Apogee and Manley. Expect to hear more about these brands soon, as part of the new PA/BX universe.
This marks the beginning of a new chapter – not only for the companies, but also for the millions of producers, engineers, musicians and creators who have trusted our products over the years.
Why This Comeback?
In this press release, Dirk writes:
When I released the first Brainworx plugins 20 years ago, I had one simple goal: Build audio tools that professionals could rely on every day. That philosophy led to Brainworx, Plugin Alliance (2012) and partnerships with many of the most respected brands in professional audio ever since.
Over the past months, I received hundreds of messages from customers around the world. Interestingly, most of them weren’t asking about the next plugin. They were asking about the future of PA/BX.
Would their software continue to work? Would their licenses remain valid? Would the products continue to evolve?
Those questions mattered to many of you, it seems. When the opportunity came to bring Brainworx and Plugin Alliance back under founder leadership, I didn’t hesitate. This isn’t a restart. It’s a continuation – with renewed focus and renewed responsibility.
I’m not looking to recreate the past. I’m looking to build the future.
What’s Next?
Plugin Alliance has a large customer base, so it’s important to see what the future holds. Dirk Ulrich writes about this here.
Our priorities are simple and clear. We’ll protect what our customers are relying on. Your plugins, your licenses and your projects will remain our highest priority.
We’ll continue to innovate. Brainworx has always been built by engineers solving real-world problems for professional users. That won’t change. We’ll communicate transparently and directly with you.
We’ll introduce the new team behind the next chapter. We’ll share our future roadmap. And we’ll keep you informed along the way.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll introduce the people behind the new Brainworx & Plugin Alliance, explain our vision in more detail and share what we’re working on.
I’d also like to thank Jack O’Donnell and the whole team at inMusic for the professional and constructive collaboration throughout this transition. I would not have been able to do it without you.
Dirk Ulrich + Plugin Alliance: My Two Pennies
Ugh, Plugin Alliance is now under new ownership. I’m glad to read that it’s back with Dirk Ulrich instead of inMusic. Yes, he sold the company to NI back then, but he can certainly make amends now.
The question remains: how will he restructure PA? I hope he’ll curb the sales frenzy that’s been going on for the past few years. New deals every day, etc. Tbh: if your plugins are great, you don’t have to sell your plugins off cheap to stay competitive.
Furthermore, I hope perceptual licenses will remain part of the business model. We don’t need subscriptions, Dirk!
More information here: Plugin Alliance
He probably got the deal fo the century. Cashed out 100% in 2023, and now got to buy back his old company, for a lot less than what he sold it for only 3 years ago.
Sometimes I’m wondering… They can do everything with us.
Back to the 80’s ? With real synths, mixers… Just to be free and more creative ?
Good point. After all, software licensing is just renting, right? You don’t *really* own software unless you write it yourself.
At least with hardware instruments, ownership is crystal clear.
This is unfortunately not always the case and we need to put much more attention on this issue. Journalists need to make people aware about Hardware companies sneaking in licensing monetisation models into their products. Examples are Akai MPC and Ableton Push, also Roland bringing Cloud into your Hardware. Talk about it, make people aware!
Every upgrade that Akai, Roland etc releases clearly indicates if its free or not. If the later, it includes the price etc. Reading the article helps!
I’m gonna miss the deals every day thing lol
Brainworx also acquired the software synths developed by Wolfgang Palm (PPG) before they were acquired by NI but never republished or revamped them. Hopefully this might become true this time.
I have not many hopes that this will happen