Update: Native Instruments (Once Again) in Preliminary Insolvency – What Happens Next?
Assessment of Current Developments
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Native Instruments (Once Again) in Preliminary Insolvency - What Happens Next? · Source: Native Instruments
The situation at Native Instruments remains critically important to many musicians and producers, as the provisional insolvency affects one of the most influential companies in modern music production. As a result, Native Instruments continues to be a source of uncertainty, raising questions about the future of its tools and projects. Because the software has been an integral part of countless studios for years, every new development is being watched closely.
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After the Insolvency Announcement: This is Apparently How Things will Continue at Native Instruments
One of the clearest assessments comes from Music Trades magazine and its editor, Brian T. Majeski. He describes Native Instruments as the latest example of a company that encountered difficulties after being acquired by the investor Francisco Partners. After several years under financial control, sales reportedly declined while losses in the hundreds of millions accumulated. At the same time, the obligation to repay substantial debts increased the economic pressure considerably. Ultimately, this combination led to the company filing for preliminary insolvency proceedings in Berlin.
Nevertheless, those in charge aim to keep Native Instruments operating. The company still has a strong product portfolio and a large user base. However, many users are reacting with caution. Although the company officially speaks of normal business operations, some customers are postponing planned purchases or upgrades. Their primary concerns center on long-term license security, support, and future development. For you as a user, this means trust and planning stability matter more right now than new features.
Why Many Users are Now Taking a Wait-and-see Approach
Strategic shifts in direction have also caused confusion in retrospect. For instance, the introduction of the umbrella brand Soundwide and the later return to the name Native Instruments appeared contradictory to many observers. At the same time, some products were discontinued while others reappeared years later. Such decisions make it difficult to maintain a clear line in product development. When users cannot recognize a platform’s direction, they quickly develop distance.
This is where the real challenge for Native Instruments now lies. Alongside financial stabilization, the company must rebuild lost trust. This cannot be achieved through announcements alone, but through reliable updates, transparent communication, and a clear product strategy. Since many of you work with these systems every day, stability matters more than grand visions. How consistently this path is followed will ultimately determine how strongly Native Instruments remains present in studios.
Update: The Official Statement from NI
[29 January 2026] The news of Native Instruments GmbH’s preliminary insolvency is causing quite a stir in the music technology scene. According to official documents from Berlin (see the article by Peter Kirn on cdm), proceedings are underway against the company. This puts the spotlight on a manufacturer that has been a mainstay in studios, on stages, and in production environments for years. This is a turning point for you because NI has long been part of the standard digital music production repertoire – and not just because of Kontakt, Traktor, and Maschine.
Nick Williams, the CEO of Native Instruments, just released an official statement stating that business and operations are continuing as usual:
I want to personally take a moment to address the recent news about Native Instruments.
Please rest assured that business continues as usual at Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx. Our hardware and software products remain on sale and available for download and activation. Our passionate and dedicated teams are here and supporting customers as normal. In product and engineering, we are continuing to develop and launch new products and features. Our NKS Partnerships team continues to process Kontakt Player licences and NKS Partner submissions.
We are working diligently and responsibly to secure a healthy, financially sustainable future for Native Instruments. As you may have seen, Native Instruments GmbH has entered a restructuring process in Germany, as have 3 of our German non-operating holding companies. In legal terms, we have filed applications to open pre-insolvency proceedings for those companies.
We are focused on providing continuity for creators, customers, and partners. We’ll continue to share updates as we have them.
I’m a lifelong musician myself, and have been a passionate fan of Native Instruments for 25 years. Our mission to inspire and enable creators to express themselves through sound continues.
Update on the Situation Surrounding Native Instruments and Plugin Alliance
[28 January 2026] Plugin Alliance has now issued an important statement regarding the situation at Native Instruments. According to a statement published on the Plugin Alliance Audiophiles Facebook page, the Plugin Alliance companies are not currently involved in the ongoing insolvency proceedings. The locations in Langenfeld and the US are reportedly outside the scope of these proceedings. This means that this part of the group of companies will be considered separately from an organizational perspective.
The statement also says that Plugin Alliance is currently continuing to operate as normal. Product releases, support, installers, and all other processes will continue as usual. This means that users of the plugins and services can continue their usual daily work without any immediate restrictions for the time being. Those responsible have announced that they will share further information as new developments arise and have emphasized their commitment to partners and customers.
Native Instruments has been Declared Provisionally Insolvent
[27 January 2026] In recent years, the company has undergone several structural changes that have not always been clearly communicated to the outside world. First, the investment firm Francisco Partners came on board, then Soundwide was formed as a merger of Native Instruments, iZotope, Plugin Alliance, and Brainworx. Later, the company returned to focusing on the Native Instruments brand. These changes indicated that the company was undergoing a period of major restructuring.
Preliminary insolvency proceedings are now underway, and according to available information (see cdm), an insolvency administrator has been appointed. Such proceedings often aim to examine restructuring options or find new solutions for the future. This often involves restructuring, potential investors, or the sale of individual business units. It is not possible to assess whether or to what extent Native Instruments can be stabilized in this way at present, as no details on the company’s financial situation are publicly available.
In Transition?
In retrospect, many observers do not consider this development to be entirely surprising. In recent years, particularly since 2019, the company has faced repeated criticism for its often-incomprehensible product strategies and decisions. Massive X failed to meet expectations for a long time, Absynth 5 was discontinued, and the Sounds.com project was terminated. At the same time, the range of sample libraries grew, and some users felt genuine innovations were becoming rarer. These factors led to a loss of confidence among some in the community.
However, there have also been recent attempts to reconnect with users. New developments, such as the new version of Absynth 6 and updates to Maschine and MIDI controllers, suggest a change in direction. However, these efforts have not been enough to stabilize the situation. It creates the image of a company caught between strategic realignments and searching for its core identity.
Is This a Phase of Reorganization?
Should Native Instruments undergo major changes, the consequences would extend beyond the company itself. Many productions, setups, and working methods rely on instruments and effects from this environment. Changes would therefore affect not only the software, but also the people who work with it. What about iZotope and Plugin Alliance? Employees and partners, in particular, find themselves in a period of uncertainty. It remains to be seen how things will unfold, but the next steps in the process will be decisive for the future of Native Instruments.
We will update you here as soon as we learn more.
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18 responses to “Update: Native Instruments (Once Again) in Preliminary Insolvency – What Happens Next?”
I do have some NI plugins but I’m more concerned as to what will happen to Plugin Alliance. I have a lot of PA plugins and have spent a lot of money with the brand. However, I would be devastated if the brand disappears.
PA said they’re not part of the insolvency on their facebook
I’m heavily invested in Kontakt. Hopefully it’s a big enough player in the music industry that it will survive this and remain a viable commodity.
After releasing for 10 years nearly only kontakt stuff who could know this would happen 😛
Perhaps it’s a few too many people seeing only money, and not really knowing what NI is best at? It’s often the case that external people see brilliance and think ‘we’ll have some of that!’, but the changes they make vastly reduce the prospect of the brilliance continuing…
NI have made an enormous contribution to the arts, across various genres. Let this be a reminder that selling arts to investment firms who care little about arts, is when the game is up. This decision affects my work and therefore my world. I hope the staff are being paid salaries.
I wonder if all this is a start of software and hardware music gear fall, like we’ve seen in music instruments physical stores. Pitty payouts from streaming and emerging AI… There will be less and less people interested in playing and producing.
Maybe they should have focused on their products and not DEI.
Methinks you might be too smoothbrained to recognize how embarrassing your post/‘opinion’ is. You’ve allowed the wrong people to program you, and it’s sad that it’s still not apparent to you. That’s the purest demonstration of capacity, though, I suppose….
Is DEI in the room with us now? I’d love to know how you’ve come to that conclusion. Like genuinely.
Anyone in the industry knows that NI has been in financial trouble for quite a while, way longer than their acquisition in 2021, and to anyone who had a view inside the organisation it was quite obvious why.
The idea that DEI was even remotely responsible for that is beyond stupid.
But that should not stop you from making unfounded accusations driven by your questionable ideology.
here it goes – maybe it’s correlated, maybe not – but they did.
https://blog.native-instruments.com/improving-diversity-and-inclusion-at-native-instruments/
It was about time that this crap company comes to an end.
This is when your not innovate. Not in hardware not in software. im still using KK 2,9 instead of KK 3. Its a downgrade.
It sounds similar to what happened to Finale recently. I think wish these companies and products were treated as a public good to be preserved and developed rather than a portfolio item for investors to play with.
Just try to peddle it to InMusic Brands instead, that’s a logic synergy for them and their current brands, and a lot of added value in both technology and customer base. It’s time for someone who knows what they are doing to take care of this meas, InMusic are very well suited for that responsibility!
I have yet to see any analysis of this situation mention the fact that the plethora of HIGH QUALITY FREE plugins has certainly eaten into paid plugin profits. I have been using both MODO Drums and the MT Drums free for years. The MT drums sound organic and great. Many sounds on my songs come from free plugins like Spitfire, Bacon Paul, Full Bucket Music, Monster, Blaukraut, etc. Yes I have East West, Diva and Pigments. But these freebies are high quality. I love Mondo drums and and bass for example. So now these companies have to keep their eye on innovation that comes from the world of free. For now.
I believe their business model is outdated straight off the bat. There was a time when plugins and virtual instruments had a value and a fair price, all this went down the drain when Waves decided to go full on fire sale on everything and killed the all over value for the audio software market. At that point NI, and many others, had already a huge costly operation and were dependent on the economy as it was before the Waves devaluation strategy.
That’s where everything started to race downhill and it created a HUGE snowball in the end, no investment capital in the world can turn this around. A new business model is needed with a total 180° is required here…
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