Spitfire Audio and AKAI Professional have confirmed a new partnership, marking the first formal collaboration between the UK-based virtual instrument developer and the global music technology group.
Announced during the NAMM 2026 Show in Anaheim, CA alongside AKAI Professional’s new MPC XL, the partnership brings together Spitfire Audio’s specialist instrument sampling expertise with MPC’s ecosystem.
The first release of this collaboration will see Spitfire Audio’s Originals Intimate Strings library available within AKAI Professional’s MPC hardware. This much-loved library captures the warmth, emotion and detail of a small string ensemble, transforming into a beautifully expressive, performance-ready instrument. Recorded with exceptional care at AIR Studios, this partnership combines Spitfire Audio’s unmatched quality to the intuitive and expressive MPC workflow.
The partnership will be showcased at the NAMM 2026 AKAI Professional booth and Creator Lounge Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd January.
Whilst this collaboration begins with the Intimate Strings library, further information on what future instruments will be available will follow in due course.
Commenting on the partnership, Paul Thomson, Founder of Spitfire Audio said:
“The brands that form the inMusic family have been with me for most of my professional music career and I’m incredibly excited to be partnering with Akai to distil our approach to expressive, performance-led instruments into a focused, standalone experience. Whether you’re writing or performing, this collaboration gives you the power for intuitive creation and I look forward to bringing more of this to the industry as this partnership grows.”
Celebrating the shared goals and values Andy Mac, Brand Manager at AKAI Professional said:
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Spitfire Audio bringing Intimate Strings MPC Edition directly into the MPC ecosystem. By giving producers access to these legendary, expressive sounds at their fingertips, we’re unlocking a new realm of emotional depth and musicality in beat-making and music production empowering creators to blend cinematic richness with the intuitive flow of MPC.”
You can sign up at the Akai Professional website to be amongst the first to learn more about this strategic partnership and further updates.
