Thanks for the update! I’ll check it out now that it ought to be a bit more on the stable end 
Dear contributors,
We apologize for the delay in getting back to you and thank you for your sustained patience. During this time, we have been doing everything we can to avoid the situation we now find ourselves in. In the spirit of transparency and honesty, we want to share the challenges we are facing and provide a clear picture of where we stand.
Current Situation
Over the past months, we’ve encountered significant difficulties with both the Loom and Omega projects, which have severely impacted our financial situation.
Loom: The production costs and delays we encountered have turned out to be much higher than we initially anticipated. Due to extended lead times for the electronic components from our manufacturer, we have been unable to launch production.
Omega: The system's complexity has far exceeded what we originally planned. The powerful nature of this synthesizer required multithreading due to the characteristics of the processors available on the market. We also faced setbacks from architectural changes necessitated by component shortages. These combined factors have led to much longer delays than expected.
We had hoped to raise additional funds by leveraging the campaign’s momentum, but unfortunately, this effort has not been successful. As a result, we are now in a difficult financial position and have been unable to secure the working capital necessary to move forward.
What We’ve Been Doing
Over the last few months, we have focused our efforts on finding potential investors or buyers to help us unlock the situation. Unfortunately, we have not been successful so far. That said, we are still in discussions with a couple of potential partners, and we hope this message might spark new opportunities.
In the meantime, we’ve been continuing our operations by selling off our existing stock of Sylphyo and Anyma Phi, which is why we launched the summer promotions. These products have been in the market for some time, and the revenue from selling our stock has allowed us to keep going for a little longer.
Additionally, the work on the Anyma V allowed us to make progress on the polyphonic synthesis part of the Omega project and MPE support. It has also brought in some additional revenue to keep on working. And it allowed us to deliver an intermediate milestone to you as well.
Use of Crowdfunding Funds
We understand that many of you are wondering how the funds from the Loom and Omega campaigns were used. Here is a brief overview:
Loom Campaign:
Platform, currency and bank transfer fees (9%).
Marketing performance-based fees (13%).
Purchase of components to secure stock (14%).
Industrial design of the circuit boards (22%).
Industrial design of the mechanical parts (4%).
Final prototyping (14%).
Development of the embedded firmware (25%).
Omega Campaign:
Platform, currency and bank transfer fees (10%).
Marketing performance-based fees (11%).
Purchase of components to secure stock (9%).
Changes to the circuit boards due to component shortages (display, touch and DSP processors) (10%).
Industrial design of the new circuit boards (37%).
Industrial design of the mechanical parts (8%).
Development of the embedded firmware (22%).
Given that the funds have been used entirely to advance these projects, we regret to inform you that a refund of your contributions is unfortunately impossible at this stage.
What’s Next
Our sales of remaining stock should allow us to continue our operations. During this time, we will continue doing everything we can to secure an investor and unblock the situation. If we can manage to start the first batch of Loom, this would allow us to deliver to stores right after fulfilling your pledges, stabilizing our situation and enabling us to finish the Omega development.
However, if we do not succeed in securing new investments or partnerships in the coming weeks, we will be left with no other choice but to file for bankruptcy.
In closing
We know this is not the message you were hoping for, and we share your frustration. We want to express our deepest gratitude for your support and belief in our vision, and we remain hopeful that a solution can be found.
Thank you again for your understanding and support during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
The Aodyo Team
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Another day, another failed kickstarter…
Still, we back these things knowing this is an all-too-common reality. That’s £300 I’ll never see again but hey ho. If you can’t afford to lose it, don’t back a crowdfunded project eh?
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I don’t know if we still have to keep faith or it’s a message to warn backers…
I might buy Anyma V just to help them out. I’ve always been curious about the Anyma Phi and was very close to backing the Omega (ironically, on the justification that they have existing products and can deliver (unlike the SpaceBee SB-01))
It’s reasonably priced at the intro sale price, but i just don’t know if it’s compelling enough. It would be the first time that I purchased a plug-in on part as charity/donation to a company I want to believe in.
the former it is
Just started a positive, forward looking thread to consider and discuss what may be next for Loom backers.
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This.
Hmm. In an effort to avoid flagging, let me just say that, if one has arrived here via links in another thread, and were considering investing in a Loom over some other controller, the news of the pending insolvency of the company that makes it might change your mind. So please look into that.
Meanwhile, for those who, like me, lost hundreds of dollars on this fiasco (and I know I got off light), there’s a new thread specifically for us where we can discuss what to spend more money on instead — but only if we promise not to say anything negative about what happened here.
And, for fear of flagging, I don’t want to suggest there’s anything disturbing or wryly humorous about that at all.
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I was prepared to write this off as a legitimate loss due to bankruptcy, but as late as November, I tried filing for a chargeback from MasterCard. I had used my debit (not credit) card for the original transaction, but it’s branded MasterCard, so I figured wtf. It worked, and I got refunded! Surprise.
I guess that means that MasterCard is the actual “investor,” so they assume the risk on the consumer’s behalf in the event of bankruptcy just as they do for fraud. It makes sense because they want to promote as many transactions as possible through their system, but finally the system worked in my favor.
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Very interesting.
Presumably Mastercard can talk ( or have talked ) to the company that the charge was made to, and collect back from them ( that being Kickstarter not Aodyo ) as well.
ADDED : I’d almost assume they had to have talked to Kickstarter, or how else would they know, this was a never to be delivered as opposed to a pre-order sort thing being delivered later.
And further, i’d think a company like Mastercard, or Visa would have a lot of leverage with a going concern like Kickstarter. Can you imagine if either of them told KS – No more charges to you, you don’t meet our standards for a trustworthy business.
My guess is that this level of debt holder is at such a low priority that MC will see virtually nothing once Aodyo’s assets are distributed among its creditors. A consumer funding the transaction via MasterCard enjoys the protection of MasterCard assuming the risk for this loss, obligating MC to refund me and eat the loss themselves. Of course, we all pay for this kind of protection, which, insurance-like, you hope to make use of only very rarely or never, but when disaster strikes, it falls on MC and not on you.
They should see nothing from Aodyo. My point is the money went between you, Mastercard and Kickstarter. Mastercard knows nothing about Aodyo. But Kickstarter they deal with all the time, for many millions every year, so that’s who they would talk to.
I see something about 540 days to file a claim, in my case ( for the Omega ) it is currently 716 days.
My statement shows the payment was made to Kickstarter.
Damn, nice! Thanks for that, I’ll give a try.
I haven’t needed to do that yet from a kickstarter.
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Oh, right.
As for timing, once I realized I foist the responsibility onto MC, I assumed I had up to one year to do that, though I don’t know for sure. The time limit might depend on the bank’s contract with MC.
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I suppose as a consequence, I realize I may lose my Kicsktarter account. But is that really necessary?
hmm. Since it’s a chargeback on Kickstarter, you’re saying they might see the chargebacker as a risk and drop them? But their risk here is accepting MasterCard instead of direct bank transfer, and they’re not about to limit payment to bank transfer. And I suspect if they “take revenge” on the MC customer (because they’re powerless to do anything to MasterCard), then MC won’t like it. It might even violate KS’s contract with MC to take revenge on the consumer for a chargeback legitimately processed by MC.
Realistically, while the amount is usually immediately floated to your account in good faith, I think Kickstarter’s TOS that you are supporting the creator with no necessary expectations of receiving a product in return will cause the chargeback to be denied by the bank.
Well, that’s depressing. tbh, I didn’t realize I’d agreed to that because my history with Aodyo made me perceive this more as a sale than a venture.
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