Forte, an Italian start-up specializing in AI-based software solutions for professional audio production, has announced a strategic partnership with Avid Technology, a global leader in software and tools for audio and video content creation, and the company behind Pro Tools, the industry-standard Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
Thanks to this collaboration, Forte becomes an integral part of the Pro Tools ecosystem: starting from June, the Pro Tools users will have free access to Forte's core features directly within Avid Link.
A new standard for audio automation
Forte is a software solution that automates the most repetitive, manual, and low-creative-value tasks in audio and music workflows, using an AI model capable of recognizing and organizing any type of audio file. The partnership with Avid focuses on two key features:
- Forte Import, which fully automates project preparation, from the simplest tasks to the most complex.
- Forte Export, which enables automatic export of all mix versions required by clients (stems, TV mix, instrumental, a cappella, etc.) with a single click, following studio specifications.
Starting in June 2025, Forte offers a dedicated version of its product for Avid, called Forte for Pro Tools.
A strategic step towards global scalability
For Forte, the collaboration with Avid marks a major milestone in a growth journey that began only in 2024. In just one year, the start-up has gone from having no product to partnering with a global industry leader.
The new partnership also validates the team's vision: using AI in audio production while always serving professionals, speeding up manual and low-value-added tasks, and saving valuable time for creative work.
"Importing and prepping sessions and then bouncing out all the different deliverables needed is always time-consuming, and Forte’s ability to automate these processes is amazing,” commented Chris Winsor, Director of Product Management, Pro Tools at Avid.
The start-up is supported by I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino. Part of Batch X of the B4i accelerator program, at the end of 2024 Forte announced the closing of a €320,000 pre-seed round, led by 40Jemz Ventures. The goal was to validate the product on the market and integrate with the main tools used by audio professionals.
The partnership with Avid now represents international recognition of Forte’s technology, as well as a commercial accelerator toward new markets.
Positioning in the professional audio market
With this initiative, Forte aims to become the first European start-up to offer such software directly integrated within Pro Tools. This is a significant achievement, considering that the professional audio sector is traditionally dominated by U.S.-based players and vertical, hard-to-scale solutions.
Forte’s ambitious goal is to become the automation standard by creating an agent capable of automating the automatable, analyzing the core systems of the software it integrates with, and saving users countless hours of work.
While the audio industry is Forte’s starting point, the vision is to expand quickly to similar industries like video and content, and beyond.
A major opportunity
"This partnership is the result of months of work and a tremendous recognition for all of us, as well as a great opportunity," said Loris Comba, Co-Founder & CEO of Forte. "It changes how people perceive us and gives us global exposure. Our next step is to further strengthen this collaboration and keep delivering innovative solutions that truly solve our users’ problems."
This collaboration also sends a strong message to the Italian start-up ecosystem and the world of innovation in audio. Forte shows how a young, highly specialized team based in Italy can develop cutting-edge technologies, secure global partnerships, and begin scaling rapidly by addressing the real needs of professionals.
In the coming months, Forte will continue to expand its offering, working on new automations, integrations with other tools, and new features — all with a clear focus: putting technology at the service of human creativity.
