Roli
7 known investors
Find your way into Roli
467 people in our graph share verified history with the Roli team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
ROLI designs color-based music instruments and tools that change how people interact with sound, aiming to make music-making more accessible to music lovers and creators. Its product ecosystem targets musicians across all skill levels.
Also known as Luminary Ltd · Luminary ROLI · ROLI · ROLI Ltd
Founders & leadership
Investors · 7
Company profile
researched Aug 2026ROLI is a London-based music technology company founded in 2009 by Roland Lamb. It became known for the Seaboard, a MIDI controller that replaces discrete keys with a continuous pliable silicone "keywave" surface, allowing pitch bending, pressure-based dynamics and timbral control through what the company calls 5D Touch. The Seaboard Grand family went on sale in 2013 in 88-, 61- and 37-keywave configurations with an embedded Equator sound engine developed with FXpansion; the more portable Seaboard Rise followed in 2015, the Seaboard Rise 2 in 2022, the 24-keywave Seaboard M in 2023 (shipping in early 2024), and the Seaboard Block M, a compact MPE controller priced at $350, in November 2023. In 2016 ROLI launched BLOCKS, a modular system of portable controllers (Lightpad Block, Seaboard Block, Live/Loop/Touch Blocks) linked by magnetic "DNA" connectors and sold through music retailers and Apple Stores; most Blocks were later discontinued.
The company's current flagship is the ROLI Piano System, an AI-assisted piano learning platform combining light-up keyboards, the Airwave hand-tracking device and the ROLI Learn app. The ROLI Piano, unveiled at NAMM 2025, is a 49-key instrument with full-size illuminated keys; ROLI Piano M (formerly LUMI Keys, rebranded in 2024) is a 24-minikey wireless MPE keyboard with per-key pitch bend, polyphonic aftertouch and patented "BrightKey" RGB backlighting, connecting over USB-C or Bluetooth and magnetically linkable to extend range. Airwave, launched in October 2024, uses infrared cameras and computer vision to track a player's hands in 3D above the keyboard and give feedback on posture and finger positioning. The ROLI Learn app membership provides 1,200+ songs, hundreds of video lessons and games, plus an AI Music Coach feature launched in February 2026 that combines hand tracking with voice interaction.
Alongside the learning products, ROLI sells creator software: ROLI Studio, a pair of plug-ins comprising ROLI Studio Player (built on the Equator2, Cypher2 and Strobe2 synth engines, with 400+ presets, smart chords, three-layer arpeggiation and 15 effects) and ROLI Studio Drums, described as the first MPE drum engine, with 15 kits. Software runs standalone or as AU/VST3 plug-ins on macOS and Windows and is extended through the ROLI Sound Store. The company has acquired JUCE, FXpansion and Blend; it sold JUCE to PACE Anti-Piracy in April 2020.
Founding story
Roland Lamb, a jazz pianist, founded ROLI in 2009 while a graduate student at London's Royal College of Art, where he later earned a PhD in product design. His first Seaboard prototype responded to the design limitations of the mechanical piano keyboard: he wanted to produce pitch and timbre effects on a keyboard more typical of bowed string and brass instruments, leading to the soft, continuous keywave surface that became the technological foundation of the Seaboard and related instruments.
Business model
ROLI sells hardware instruments and controllers (Seaboard, ROLI Piano, Piano M, previously BLOCKS and LUMI) together with software and subscription content. The ROLI Learn app is offered as a membership with a free basic tier; at the time of the 2021 relaunch the LUMI keyboard was priced at $300 with an $80 annual app subscription. Creator software such as ROLI Studio and Sound Store packs is sold under perpetual licences rather than subscription, though the company says it may explore subscriptions. In the 18 months to 30 June 2019, hardware accounted for 82% of revenue and software 18%.
Hardware sales plus paid app membership for the ROLI Learn piano-learning platform and one-off purchases of plug-ins and sound packs; a free tier of the learning app exists alongside the paid subscription.
Traction
ROLI reported revenues of £11.4 million against pretax losses of £34.1 million for the 18 months to 30 June 2019, and had raised $75.7 million before the 2021 administration. The 2019 LUMI Kickstarter passed its £100,000 target within two hours. The company sells in over 40 countries, employed around 70 people at the time of the 2021 relaunch, and its Learn platform offers more than 1,200 songs and hundreds of video lessons. Products have received TIME Best Inventions recognition (2019, 2022, 2025), a CES 2026 Innovation Award and a 2026 iF Design Award.
Latest developments
In 2026 ROLI launched AI Music Coach in the ROLI Learn app (February), announced a partnership with CASIO and a ROLI Learn for CASIO app at SXSW London (June), and continued adding catalogue content to the Learn app. In July 2026, reporting based on The Times stated that TriplePoint had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators and that ROLI was restructuring its finances to avoid a second insolvency; the company's website displayed a maintenance message with products listed out of stock, and Companies House filings published on 3 July 2026 showed Roland Lamb's termination as CEO effective 23 April 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
ROLI is known within music technology for pioneering expressive MPE controllers and, since 2021, for repositioning toward consumer music education. Its original professional and hobbyist products were widely praised but served a market the founder described as too small for its venture growth trajectory, contributing to the 2021 administration; the company then targeted beginners, framing the LUMI/piano-learning proposition as a mass-market opportunity. Recent recognition includes TIME Best Inventions listings for LUMI (2019), Seaboard Rise 2 (2022) and the ROLI Piano System (2025), a CES 2026 Innovation Award and a 2026 iF Design Award. Commentary in 2026 notes continued difficulty matching high-tech, premium-priced products to the mass market.
ROLI positions its learning system as the only one that observes how a player physically plays, using the Airwave hand-tracking device and vision AI to give feedback on posture and finger positioning, combined with light-up full-size keys whose skills transfer to a traditional piano. On the creator side, its differentiators are the continuous keywave playing surface, extensive MPE sound libraries and what it describes as the first MPE drum engine.
Technology
Core technologies include the continuous silicone "keywave" surface underpinning the Seaboard and 5D Touch, MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) implementation across controllers, patented BrightKey per-key RGB illumination, and the Airwave computer-vision system, which uses infrared cameras to track hand position in 3D above a keyboard in real time. ROLI Vision AI and conversational/voice AI power the AI Music Coach, which gives real-time personalised feedback on technique. Software includes the Equator2, Cypher2 and Strobe2 synth engines and the ROLI Studio Player and Drums plug-ins, compatible with macOS and Windows as standalone, AU and VST3 formats.
Go-to-market
Direct sales through roli.com alongside distribution via music retailers and, historically, Apple Stores; products are sold in over 40 countries. Marketing has included trade-show launches such as NAMM 2025 and SXSW London, a Kickstarter campaign for LUMI in 2019, artist endorsements and partnerships, including a 2026 partnership with CASIO and a co-branded ROLI Learn for CASIO app.
Beginner and intermediate piano learners, including children and adults using the ROLI Piano System and Learn app, as well as producers, sound designers and professional musicians who use Seaboard and MPE controllers; the company's instruments have been used by musicians including Grimes, A. R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer.
Geography
Headquartered in London (Dalston), England, with products sold in more than 40 countries and a US-facing storefront.
History
ROLI was founded in 2009 and shipped the Seaboard Grand from September 2013, following with the Seaboard Rise (2015), BLOCKS (2016) and the LUMI light-up beginner keyboard via Kickstarter in 2019. It raised a $12.8 million Series A in 2014 and a $27 million Series B in 2016, took debt funding from Kreos Capital in April 2017, and named Pharrell Williams Chief Creative Officer and investor in 2017. It acquired JUCE, FXpansion and Blend, selling JUCE to PACE Anti-Piracy in April 2020. After losses in 2019 and 2020, ROLI Ltd filed for administration in September 2021; Lamb and Chief People Officer Corey Harrower formed Luminary Ltd, which acquired the intellectual property and assets, took on venture debt from TriplePoint Capital, retained roughly 70 staff and raised £5 million ($6.85 million) led by Hoxton Ventures, continuing under the ROLI brand. Subsequent milestones include the Seaboard Rise 2 (2022), Seaboard Block M and Seaboard M (2023), the rebranding of LUMI Keys to ROLI Piano M and LUMI Music to ROLI Learn (2024), Airwave (October 2024), ROLI Piano at NAMM 2025 and AI Music Coach (February 2026).
Risks & controversies
ROLI's professionally oriented products served a market its founder said was too small for venture-scale growth, and the company recorded pretax losses of £34.1 million on £11.4 million of revenue in the 18 months to June 2019, leading to the September 2021 administration of ROLI Ltd in which some investors lost their money. Pharrell Williams' Chief Creative Officer role did not continue after the 2021 restructuring. In July 2026 the company was reported to be facing a second insolvency risk, with a notice of intention to appoint administrators filed by TriplePoint, products unavailable, customers reporting undelivered orders placed months earlier, and the founder no longer serving as CEO.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 18
launches, deals, and filingsPer a report citing The Times (10 July 2026), TriplePoint filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators in early July 2026 while ROLI worked to restructure its finances; the company's website showed a maintenance message and products were out of stock.
Partnership and new ROLI Learn for CASIO app announced at SXSW London.
Companies House records published on 3 July 2026 show Lamb's termination as CEO took effect on 23 April 2026.
Piano learning feature using hand tracking and voice interaction, built into the ROLI Learn app.
The ROLI Piano System received a CES 2026 Innovation Award and won an iF Design Award in 2026.
A 49-key keyboard with full-size illuminated keys, presented at the company's first NAMM appearance in six years; combined with Airwave and ROLI Learn as the ROLI Piano System.
Computer vision device using infrared cameras to track hand movements above a keyboard in real time.
LUMI Keys became ROLI Piano M and the LUMI Music app became ROLI Learn.
Redesigned fretted keywave surface, aluminium chassis and USB-C; named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2022.
After losses in 2019 and 2020, ROLI Ltd entered administration; assets and IP moved to a new company, Luminary Ltd, formed by Roland Lamb and Chief People Officer Corey Harrower, which took on venture debt from TriplePoint Capital and retained about 70 staff.
Kickstarter campaign for LUMI, a 24-key RGB-illuminated beginner keyboard, passed its £100,000 target within two hours; named a TIME Best Invention of 2019.
Williams joined as Chief Creative Officer and invested in the company; the role did not continue after the 2021 restructuring.
Modular music controllers including Lightpad Block, Seaboard Block and Live, Loop and Touch Blocks, connected by magnetic DNA connectors and sold via music retailers and Apple Stores.
A more portable USB and Bluetooth MIDI controller available in 25- and 49-keywave sizes.
ROLI's first instrument shipped in 88-, 61- and 37-keywave configurations with an embedded Equator sound engine developed with FXpansion, debuting publicly at the Royal Albert Hall.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Roli do?
- London music-technology company making expressive MPE instruments and an AI- and hand-tracking-based piano learning system.
- Who founded Roli?
- Roli was founded by Roland Lamb.
- Who are Roli's investors?
- Roli's investors include Balderton Capital, Edge VC, FirstMark Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Index Ventures, Founders Fund, Foundry.