iZotope has been acquired by Boris FX. It’s fair to say 2026 has been an eventful year so far for Native Instruments and all involved with the audio industry powerhouse, including iZotope.
Recent months have been a time of uncertainty for staff and customers alike, with the future of multiple well-established brands hanging in the balance.
Plugin Alliance, Brainworx, and iZotope were all under the Native Instruments umbrella earlier this year.
Of course, we didn’t expect such influential brands to vanish overnight, but we didn’t know where they would end up or how it would impact us as music makers.
The news that inMusic had acquired Native Instruments and all of its controlled brands suggested an end to the drama, or no more significant plot twists, at least.
However, as Boris FX enters stage left, it seems we’ll have at least one more act before the curtain falls on this story.
A lot has happened before Boris FX came on the scene and acquired iZotope, so here’s a brief recap.
The story so far
A lot has happened; too much for you or me to revisit every detail, as I’m sure you’ll appreciate.
But here are some highlights to remind you of the story so far.
- Native Instruments launched with Generator (later Reaktor) in 1996.
- Kontakt came along in 2002, and the first iteration of Maschine came in 2009.
- The 2010s brought a shift in sentiment around the brand, with many customers feeling undervalued in the company’s quest for market domination.
- The Francisco Partners investment firm became the majority shareholder in 2021 and rapidly acquired additional assets, including iZotope, Brainworx, and Plugin Alliance.
- In addition to now servicing substantial debts (£250m, according to a 2023 financial filing), Francisco Partners guided Native Instruments through some confusing and unbeneficial decisions, including placing all brands under a new Soundwide umbrella and discontinuing the fan-favorite Absynth (two decisions that were reversed amid customer backlash).
- November 2025 brought a failed joint acquisition of Native Instruments by Bridgepoint Group Holdings (UK) and Bain Capital Credit (US).
- January 2026: Native Instruments enters preliminary insolvency proceedings.
- May 2026: inMusic acquires Native Instruments and all controlled brands.
- July 2026: Boris FX acquires iZotope, removing it from the Native Instruments family.
Who is Boris FX?
Boris FX is Boris Yamnitsky; well, it’s more than one man, but he founded the company in 1995, at least, and still serves as CEO today.
Boris FX is a leading developer of visual effects/editing software and plugins for the film and photography industry.
It’s almost fitting that a company so deeply entrenched in Hollywood takes the lead in what we might assume is the end of this story.
Boris FX products like Mocha Pro, Silhouette, and Sapphire are used on everything from indie films to big-budget blockbusters, and have won multiple Academy and Emmy awards.
Boris FX is having quite a storied 2026, too, as the iZotope acquisition comes hot on the heels of purchasing Vegas Pro (formerly Sony Vegas Pro), Sound Forge, and Acid Pro from MAGIX Software GmbH in March of this year.
A perfect match?
Given that iZotope products like RX and Ozone are industry standards for audio repair and mastering, and widely used in the audiovisual industry, the acquisition makes perfect sense for Boris FX.
Boris FX can now offer the film and video industry a comprehensive software suite that covers all audio and visual needs.
It would seem to strengthen Boris FX’s position as something of a one-stop shop for professional software.
Whether that makes Boris FX and iZotope a perfect match from a music maker’s point of view remains to be seen.
Although had Native Instruments gone from one private equity firm to another (or two), we could already be talking about the complete downfall of several brands.
As it stands, with inMusic and Boris FX, I’m glad these brands are with people who have a longstanding history in their respective industries.
What will change for existing customers?
As of right now, it seems nothing, or very little, will change.
All iZotope products, licenses, and subscriptions are expected to remain fully functional with uninterrupted support.
iZotope will function as a dedicated unit within Boris FX, and the existing engineering, product, and support teams will remain intact.
Existing customers can log in to their iZotope accounts as normal to download/install/update currently owned products or purchase new ones.
One slight change means that iZotope products are no longer available via Plugin Alliance, although this may change again in the future.
It appears that both existing iZotope staff and customers should have a painless transition to the Boris FX era.
What does the future hold?
Regarding the future iZotope roadmap, here’s what the Boris FX website tells us:
“Boris FX is committed to investing in iZotope’s future. Plugin development continues without interruption, and the teams behind RX, Ozone, Neutron, and Nectar stay in place to keep building the tools customers rely on. Together, we’ll accelerate the next generation of intelligent audio technology.”
Whether you’re a music producer, media composer, or post-production wizard for film/television, iZotope software does what you need it to do in that field.
So, I guess the only thing that remains to be seen is whether Boris FX’s commitment to the next generation will include new creative tools for the music-making process, like past releases such as Trash, Stutter Edit 2, and Vocal Synth 2.
Tools that we’d use in sound design, in production, or will it focus heavily on its post-production big-hitters?
I’d like to see innovation in all areas.
What the bosses have to say
Here are a couple of short statements from the Boris FX CEO and iZotope’s VP of Product, respectively.
“iZotope is one of the most respected names in audio, pioneering developments in machine-learning-assisted audio. The team has built its reputation by creating tools that pros reach for when projects demand perfection. We’ve held ourselves — and our visual effects — to that same standard for thirty years. Together, we offer creators a single partner committed to excellence across everything they hear and see.” – Boris Yamnitsky, CEO and Founder, Boris FX.
“Joining forces with Boris FX is a massive catalyst for what we do best: changing the industry with new innovations in audio. In Boris FX, we’ve found a partner that shares our obsession for driving creative tech forward. We can’t wait to bring iZotope back to its roots with the next generation of intelligent tools.” – Todd Baker, VP of Product, iZotope.
Final Thoughts
As long as things continue as normal for people who spend hard-earned money on iZotope products, then it’s all good.
I hope that Boris FX’s dedication to audio in film and the optimization of tools for such projects don’t create any future disconnect between iZotope and customers who purely want to make music.
It’s not like iZotope is the number one source of creative FX for music production anyway, so it might never be an issue.
Other than that, I like inMusic, and part of me is a little disappointed that they aren’t holding onto iZotope. But given the short window between inMusic acquiring Native Instruments and Boris FX purchasing iZotope, it would seem that keeping iZotope was perhaps never on the cards for inMusic.
Last Updated on July 3, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
