The company also develops the Native Kontrol Standard (NKS), a plug-in extension which allows integration with Kontrol and Maschine products (both hardware and software). Some of these software items are also grouped together in their Komplete software bundle. Native instruments also produce a number of other sample libraries, virtual instruments and effects processing plug-ins, many of which function through the architecture of Reaktor or Kontakt.
In addition to the company's own offerings, it also hosts a large collection of community creations on the Reaktor User Library. Several of Native Instruments products were built using Reaktor, including Monark – NI's emulation of the Moog Model D.
In September 2004, the company began a partnership with the DJ hardware manufacturing company Stanton Magnetics and with online music store Beatport. In 2002, they expanded further to include software samplers, in the form of ongoing products Kontakt and Battery. In 2000, the company began creating products for the DJ community, beginning with the first version of their Traktor software. In 1999, Native Instruments expanded their staff count and moved to their current building in Berlin's Kreuzberg district. įollowing the release of Generator, the company's employees expanded to include Bernd Roggendorf (later a founder of Ableton) and Daniel Haver, who later became Native Instruments' CEO.
Founders Stephan Schmitt and Volker Hinz began using the name Native Instruments in 1996, when they developed Generator, a modular synth software package (which would later form the foundations for their ongoing product, Reaktor). Native Instruments was founded in Berlin, Germany, where its headquarters are still located.