Ableton

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Ableton AG is a German music software company known for Ableton Live, a popular digital audio workstation, and for hardware like the Push controller. The company is based in Berlin, with a second office in Pasadena, California.

Founded in 1999 by Gerhard Behles, Robert Henke, and Bernd Roggendorf, Ableton released Live in 2001 and it quickly became a favorite for music creation and live performance. In 2007, Ableton began collaborating with Cycling ’74, the creators of Max/MSP. In 2009 they introduced Max for Live, which lets users create Max patches inside Live. In 2017, Ableton acquired Cycling ’74.

Live comes in three main editions: Standard, Suite (which includes more instruments, effects, and Max for Live), and Intro. There is also a lighter version called Live Lite that often ships with hardware. Ableton also makes hardware: Push, a controller for Live first released in 2013 for Live 9, Push 2 in 2015 with an onboard screen, and Push 3 in 2023 available in two forms—tethered and standalone (with its own CPU and storage). They also offer Move, a portable groove-box, and Note, a mobile companion app.

Ableton runs training programs and certifies Ableton trainers. In 2015, they published the book Making Music: 74 Creative Strategies for Electronic Music Producers. Headquartered in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, with a second office in Pasadena, California, Ableton had about 350 employees in 2020 and continues to develop Live and related products used by musicians worldwide.