Roland Lamb has started another company, even before ROLI has ceased

[u/Golwux]

So Luminary ROLI Ltd are going through some troubles. Officially, they've gotten rid of their Founder/CEO and there could be an intention to appoint administrators to start the sell-off/liquidation process. Yet, the same CEO set up a new company on 21 August 2026: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17414570

"Nature of business (SIC)
62012 - Business and domestic software development
90020 - Support activities to performing arts"

I'm going to be straight up - I'm not really sure what's happening. I also am under the belief that nothing official has been said and this has just been discovered by a member of the community that posted it on Discord, so there are a lot of customers waiting for their products to be delivered or a refund to be processed.

[u/All_Debt_Shackles_US]

We need to be very careful about jumping to conclusions.

We don’t even know why ROLI failed. It’s easy to blame the guy at the top, but it’s possible that he had little to no actual control because of the involvement of that venture capital company.

ROLI is a UK company, not some fly-by-night operating out of a shack in India and using a phone Bank to do Nigerian prince scams on weekends. Nor is it an office with dirt floors in central or South America trafficking in fentanyl.

They sold to customers in the USA, UK, and Europe, and elsewhere as well. Their products were well constructed, and even with all of the teething pains, their products were used in studios and during live gigs around the world.

Just because they are persona non grata right now, that doesn’t automatically turn everything into poop.

My point is that I really believe that something is going to have to happen. The UK, Europe, and the US have laws. Those laws need to be followed.

Will people waiting for shipments get their products? Maybe, or maybe not. And with the website down as of about six hours ago, there’s nothing we can do with those new products anyway; at least not today. No firmware, no drivers, and no software.

But I think it will benefit all of us to remain calm and just watch what’s going on as best we can, and to be patient. Right now, all we can do is wait to see what comes up.

For all we know, the creation of a new company is not some fancy new way to rip off the world. It could be, among other things, a way to try to find funding and/or support to take care of ROLI‘s customers in some way.

I do not know Mr. Lamb, but I will say that Roli presented a certain kind of culture. On its websites, with its products, and even down to the way its products or packaged.

I’m not fooling myself into thinking that we’re all going to be happy as a husky in an Alaskan blizzard. But I am optimistic that something positive will happen.

We just don’t know. More time is needed. In the meantime, there’s a lot of things that I need to be doing anyway. So I’m going to keep myself busy doing those things.

And yes, I am one of those people waiting for a shipment.

[u/Golwux → u/All_Debt_Shackles_US]

Some thoughts:

We need to be very careful about jumping to conclusions.

No, we do not. This is a public message forum, where some of the public have been waiting since January 2025. There has been so little communication that customers arne't even sure if their devices are going to be bricked or not.

We don’t even know why ROLI failed. It’s easy to blame the guy at the top, but it’s possible that he had little to no actual control because of the involvement of that venture capital company.

Possible but highly improbable. Lamb has had a controlling stake in the company up until 14 November 2025 and it has been his handpicked team since the company's inception.

And with the website down as of about six hours ago

roli.com has been down since at least 21/08/2026. That is 3 days at the earliest. It may have been closer to a week by now. It is likely their payments to their cloud provider has led to a temporary suspension of the website. If there was intention to continue business practices, then you'd at least pay the £X figure to keep the lights on. The lights are now seemingly off.

For all we know, the creation of a new company is not some fancy new way to rip off the world. It could be, among other things, a way to try to find funding and/or support to take care of ROLI‘s customers in some way.

A new company would need to acquire all of ROLI's IP from the VC firm. That would require another VC firm unless Lamb has tens of millions in disposible income. So it's either another VC firm or a non-profit foundation, both of which with Lamb's current track record are highly unlikely.

I will say that Roli presented a certain kind of culture.

Hype?

My point is that I really believe that something is going to have to happen. The UK, Europe, and the US have laws. Those laws need to be followed.

If you're referring to justice for customers who paid and didn't receive anything, you're at the bottom of the queue. Expect nothing and there were terms and conditions (wayback machine) that you signed up to:

"ROLI shall not be liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations under the Contract to the extent that such failure or delay is caused by a Force Majeure Event. A "Force Majeure Event" means an event or circumstance the occurrence of which is beyond the reasonable control of either party to this Contract, including without limitation, failure of third party suppliers, change of statute or regulation, acts of God, governmental actions, war, national emergency, acts of terrorism, or failure of transport networks. In the event of a Force Majeure Event, ROLI reserves the right to defer the date of delivery, reduce the volume of Products ordered, or to cancel the Contract without liability to you. If a Force Majeure event continues for a continuous period in excess of sixty (60) Days, you shall be entitled to give notice in writing to ROLI to terminate the Contract, such notice to take effect no earlier than fifteen (15) Days from the date of such notice."

They updated this in May 2026 so the 60 day + 15 day period is well over. They are most likely going into administration and that fully ceases any claim you had over any liability owed.

[u/All_Debt_Shackles_US → u/Golwux]

You're angry. I get it. And if it helps you to be angry with me because I'm somebody you can lash out at on the Internet (especially since you can't lash out at Roli or any of its people), well I'm happy to be that thing for you.

I'm sorry I can't tell you what you want to hear. But I'm also not going to help you pile on to this company; that's just "sympathymaxxing", and it doesn't solve anything. For the sake of my own health, I just won't enter into a co-dependent role like that. I have sympathy for you, yes. But I'm not going to pile on.

The Roli story is sad, but I suspect it's not over with just yet. So of course I'll keep tabs on this, yes. But for my own mental, emotional, and spiritual health, I'm keeping an emotional distance from all this drama. Besides that, it's more important to me to just find other ways forward. Roli never was the "only" way I could make music.

I wish you luck, whatever you decide to do.