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| The Seaboard RISE 25, ROLI's multi-award-winning MIDI controller launched in September 2015. |
New York - ROLI,
the East London-based music technology company, has raised $27 million
to accelerate growth and bring its revolutionary devices - including the
celebrated Seaboard RISE - to music-makers around the world.
ROLI has rapidly
established itself as the most innovative company in music technology by
creating connected instruments that offer unprecedented expression. The
Series B fundraising will help ROLI scale to meet growing demand,
expand in new markets, and intensively build out its product, engineering, and marketing teams in North America and Europe.
Roland Lamb,
Founder and CEO of ROLI, said: "Music is a source of joy, and we want
to make music creation more connected and accessible for everyone. The
success of the Seaboard has shown that people want musical devices that
are elegant, advanced, and open to all-and as easy to use as a
smartphone or tablet. We're thrilled to be partnering with some of the
world's most experienced investors as we revolutionize how people
express themselves through music. And as we continue this journey, we
are looking for everyone-from coders and makers to composers and
musicians-to join the ROLI team as we change the shape of music."
ROLI's chain of
connected hardware, software, platform, and developer products have
received worldwide acclaim. The Seaboard RISE, an instrument that
launched in September 2015, remodels the piano keyboard as a soft,
smooth, touch-responsive surface that lets music-makers shape sound
through five dimensions of touch. Artists have celebrated the Seaboard
RISE, while reviewers have hailed it as "one of the most exciting,
progressive, and potent MIDI controllers ever made" that "borrows the
best of the analog and digital worlds" to "offer the electronic musician
a more personal, emotionally engaged playing experience." In December
2015 ROLI launched NOISE, a free iOS app that turns iPhones and iPads
into delightfully expressive musical instruments. The app, which the
Apple Store features on demonstration units of its iPhones, has set the
standard in applying Apple's 3D Touch technology to music creation.
Foundry Group,
the Boulder-based venture capital firm, led the round in its first
investment outside the US. Ryan McIntyre, partner at Foundry Group,
said: "We've had the opportunity to partner with companies at the
forefront of Connected Health, Connected Play, and other areas where the
intersection of physical and digital technologies is transforming the
way we live. We're tremendously excited to be working with Roland and
the ROLI team to transform and connect how people make music. The
Seaboard is a truly expressive new instrument, and we believe this is
just the first step in a breakthrough roadmap for Connected Music."
London-based BGF Ventures and San Francisco-based Founders Fund joined the round alongside all the investors who participated in ROLI's $12.8m Series A: Balderton Capital, FirstMark Capital, Index Ventures, Horizons Ventures, and Universal Music Group.
ROLI welcomes new
US-based investors Foundry Group and Founders Fund at a time when the US
accounts for a large share of current and prospective sales. It has
opened offices in New York and Los Angeles since its acquisition of Blend,
the cloud-based music-sharing platform, in October 2015. While ROLI
continues to grow in the US and Europe, it is also expanding
internationally. Seaboards are now available in approximately 200 retail
outlets in 15 countries. Seaboards purchased on ROLI's online Store
ship globally.
ROLI is extending
the journey of music creation to everyone not only through its products
but also by working with institutions like Children's Music Fund, INSPIRE Music, and Rytmo.
Expanding its commitments to society, ROLI announces today that it will
pledge 1% of its products, equity, and team's time to find new ways of
bringing the joy of making to everyone. It joins technology companies
such as Salesforce.org, Techstars, and Glassdoor in the Pledge 1%
movement in the US and UK.
Roland Lamb, founder and CEO of ROLI, in ROLI's newest East London railway arch.
