Founded in 2012 in Latvia, as a company essentially committed to professional audio and home studio segment, in early 2020, Sonarworks introduced SoundID, its next generation personalization audio technology. SoundID is a sound profile that uses machine learning to evolve with the user over time, moving away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach, to personalizing sound for everyone. SoundID can be set up for free in minutes via a simple app test, based on the user's unique hearing ability and listening preferences. As a result, listeners can enjoy their favorite music, movies, and even gaming, awarding what the company defines as "an unprecedented level of personalization, detail, and clarity, unlike anything they’ve heard before."
In less than a year, SoundID gained international interest from PC brand Gateway; Drop, the community-based product design company and headphone brand; and Monoprice, the online retailer of high-quality and affordably priced consumer electronics and accessories. SoundID has also been recognized with a CES Innovation Award and TEC Technical Excellence award.
With this new financing round, Sonarworks will be able to expand its licensing business to bring more innovative SoundID enabled products to market globally. With the additional funding, Sonarworks intends to continue to expand internationally to the US and now Asia, actively inviting tech innovators with a passion for audio and audio engineering to join their team.
"The pandemic showed us that great audio and video technology are basic needs in the modern world. According to our research, we have found that people vary greatly in how they perceive sound and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for audio," says Helmuts Bems, Co-founder and CEO of Sonarworks. "This investment will help fuel international growth, bringing our transformative technology to consumer electronics manufacturers for personalized sound on any audio device."
The financing round was led by Almaz Capital with participation from Karma Ventures, Trind Ventures, Proks Capital, Smart Growth VC, Wiser Financial Advisors OÜ, and angel investors Cesar Lamschtein and Victor Yun.
"Helmuts Bems and Martins Popelis have built an incredible team and a market-leading know-how and position in their space. We are happy to be able to be part of the journey, which is still only the beginning. Sonarworks is supporting the underlying creator economy trends and will benefit from the ongoing disruptions in the music industry," commented Taavi Lepmets, Co-Founder and Partner of Trind Ventures.
"Karma Ventures has backed Sonarworks since they made their first steps towards the consumer electronics market. The progress with partners has been impressive and the signed licensing agreements clearly show that the industry has now really caught on with the personalized audio trend for which Sonarworks has the best solution in the market. We think that the company has a good opportunity to become a leader in this space and are happy to continue providing our support in their journey to a global success," adds Kristjan Laanemaa, Founding Partner at Karma Ventures.
www.sonarworks.com
