By: Oliver Hawthorne
Cloud round-trips remain a quiet tax on time and security for anyone handling professional audio. A guitarist tracking riffs cannot afford to wait for remote server queues, and a dubbing house bound by strict NDAs cannot risk routing finished mixes across public networks. That friction drove LALAL.AI to make a hardware pivot at IBC2026.
The platform is running its stem-separation engine fully offline inside Neko, a wireless AI mini studio built by Neko Engineering. At Stand 14.C45 in Hall 14, visitors can watch tracks split live into vocals, drums, bass, and guitar without an internet connection or per-inference fee. Nik Pogorsky noted this marks a distinct shift after six years of browser-based tools, while Vadim Smirnov confirmed the engine maintains real-time performance on-device without quality compromises. Alongside hardware demos, the team showed practical post-production workflows for broadcast and localization. Field recordings plagued by wind and traffic turn into clean dialogue in minutes. Mixes missing delivered M&E tracks yield isolated dialogue for new-language dubs, and stadium music beds triggering Content ID blocks disappear while commentary stays intact. Studios needing strict security can deploy the same technology on-premises via the Lyra-powered VST3 and AU plugin inside Ableton Live, Reaper, DaVinci Resolve Fairlight, and Adobe Premiere Pro. Anastasia Shikina framed both the Neko integration and workflow demos around a single goal: usable audio from uncleaned source material.
The commercial path is clear. Core tools like Voice Cleaner, Stem Splitter, Voice Cloner, and VST plugins remain active on the web platform, while the Neko device is open for pre-order at $349, down from $499, ahead of 2027 shipping. Nearly seven million professionals rely on the platform, and moving this engine into an offline device removes the final rationale for cloud dependency in secure environments.
Author bio: Oliver Hawthorne, a Principal Correspondent permanently stationed at an international technology review, specializing in hardware integration and professional broadcast workflows.