Kevin Parker's side project just crossed 10,000 units sold. The Tame Impala founder co-launched Telepathic Instruments in 2024, shipping the Orchid synthesizer in November 2024. Revenue hit $12 million over 14 months.
The hardware solves a specific problem: Parker wanted to play complex chords without classical training. Orchid maps eight chord variations (minor, major seventh, etc.) to a single note press. Hit C, tap a button, get C major seventh. The device includes a 16-voice polyphonic engine, bass synth, effects, dual speakers, and rechargeable battery.
First batch sold out in three minutes at $549. Artists including Fred Again and Kid Cudi have used it on records. Future price cuts are planned but not specified.
What's notable: Parker deliberately avoided Tame Impala branding. The company, co-founded with Ignacio Germade, Chris Adams, Charl Laubscher, and Tom Cosm, targets novice to professional musicians, not just Parker's fanbase. It's a calculation that prioritizes product longevity over initial marketing lift.
The business model splits cleanly from Parker's music IP. While Tame Impala generates streaming royalties (40 million monthly Spotify listeners), Orchid revenue comes from hardware sales and whatever patent protection the chord-generation system carries. Parker conceived the design over a decade ago, prototyped seriously during pandemic downtime.
This is the operational reality of musician-inventor ventures: catalog income funds R&D, but the hardware business stands alone. Parker's Grammy win this week (best dance/electronic recording) helps neither directly nor indirectly, he's building a separate company that ships physical product.
For enterprise tech folks eyeing creative industry hardware: this is what product-market fit looks like at consumer scale. Three-minute sellout, repeat customers (Kid Cudi counts), pricing that leaves room to move down. No disclosed funding, which means either bootstrap or very quiet backing.
The company hasn't shared production costs, margin structure, or manufacturing partner details. At 10,000 units, they're past prototype phase but still figuring out scale economics.