Skip to main content

Artiphon launches a Kickstarter campaign for its new musical device Orba

Artiphon, the startup that previously raised more than $1 million on Kickstarter for a device called the Instrument 1, has launched a new campaign for its latest invention, Orba.

Co-founder and CEO Mike Butera said the Instrument 1 and Orba share “the same DNA,” namely his vision to help music-making become more accessible to everyone, regardless of training or experience.

“I want beginners to feel like pros, but also for pros to feel like beginners again,” Butera told me. “For me, this is just the next step in how we do that.”

With Orba, the Artiphon team has created something that’s smaller and more affordable than the Instrument 1 (which the company still plans to support), and that allows its owner to accomplish more without any software. Butera described it as “a radical simplification of what an instrument can be.”

Orba is a circular device that you can hold in one or two hands — Butera said his team was thinking about game controllers, but also “grapefruits and bowls of miso soup.”

The simplicity comes from the fact that the device’s surface is divided into only eight touch pads — but thanks to Orba’s different modes (drum, bass, chord and lead), plus a variety of touch and motion sensors, you can tap, stroke and shake it to make a wide range of different sounds.

You can play Orba on its own by using the on-board synth, or you can connect it to the Orba app, and to other music software like GarageBand.

Artiphon plans to ship the first Orba devices in April of next year. They will eventually cost $99, but they’re currently available through Kickstarter as a $79 early bird special. (Once the early bird runs out, Orba will still be discounted at $89 for Kickstarter backers.) Artiphon is looking to raise $50,000 through this campaign — it’s already halfway there as I write this.

As for why Artiphon still crowdfunding after raising a seed round earlier this year, Butera said the campaign is “not really about finding the right investors, it’s about finding the right customers.”

He added, “I think it’s just responsible for the product designer to go straight to the customer.”

Artiphon raises $2M round led by Warner Music



from Startups – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2rl07xE
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Axeleo Capital raises $51 million fund

Axeleo Capital has raised a $51 million fund (€45 million). Axeleo first started with an accelerator focused on enterprise startups. The firm is now all grown up with an acceleration program and a full-fledged VC fund. The accelerator is now called Axeleo Scale , while the fund is called Axeleo Capital . And it’s important to mention both parts of the business as they work hand in hand. Axeleo picks up around 10 startups per year and help them reach the Series A stage. If they’re doing well over the 12 to 18 months of the program, Axeleo funds those startups using its VC fund. Limited partners behind the company’s first fund include Bpifrance through the French Tech Accélération program, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Vinci Energies, Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Caisse d’Épargne Rhône-Alpes as well as various business angels and family offices. The firm is also partnering with Hi Inov, the holding company of the Dentressangle family. Axeleo will take care of the early stage in...
Post a Comment
Read more

TikTok’s rivals in India struggle to cash in on its ban

For years, India has served as the largest open battleground for Silicon Valley and Chinese firms searching for their next billion users. With more than 400 million WhatsApp users , India is already the largest market for the Facebook-owned service. The social juggernaut’s big blue app also reaches more than 300 million users in the country. Google is estimated to reach just as many users in India, with YouTube closely rivaling WhatsApp for the most popular smartphone app in the country. Several major giants from China, like Alibaba and Tencent (which a decade ago shut doors for most foreign firms), also count India as their largest overseas market. At its peak, Alibaba’s UC Web gave Google’s Chrome a run for its money. And then there is TikTok, which also identified India as its biggest market outside of China . Though the aggressive arrival of foreign firms in India helped accelerate the growth of the local ecosystem, their capital and expertise also created a level of competit...
Post a Comment
Read more