This announcement follows years of intense research efforts and proof-of-concept developments, which included a challenging high-quality headphone project using Ora's first driver with the company's GrapheneQ membrane technology. The crowdfunding project has kept the company busy, while the research efforts have continued. Ora has produced the largest sheets of free-standing graphene demonstrating incredible new material properties for multi-purpose commercial utilization.
GrapheneQ membranes have already been proven to significantly improve sound quality and reduce energy consumption for global manufacturers of consumer electronics, with applications being developed for exciting new markets opportunities.
“Diminishing energy consumption is one target around the world that will have a direct and rapid environmental impact. Ora has quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting new material startups in the industry to achieve this goal,” commented Richard Cloutier, Managing Partner at Ecofuel Fund.
“We were attracted to Ora not only because of their early traction with audio applications but also their plans to expand into other markets with their very unique intellectual property and experience with graphene production,” adds Bill Pertusi of the NY Angels. “As part of our 2017 cohort, Ora has demonstrated clear technological advancements and market viability,” said Helge Seetzen, General Partner of TandemLaunch Ventures. “We are thrilled to see their market traction and provide continuous support.”
Graphene has a multitude of differentiated properties which repeatedly earn it the title “wonder material.” Due to its unprecedented strength and conductivity, the range of applications for graphene spans from solar panels and new composites to headphones. Graphene was first isolated at the University in 2004 by two Russian scientists - Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov - who subsequently won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010 for their work on this new material. Novoselov himself added, “I have known the team at Ora for years and was always impressed with their ingenious solutions of very challenging technological and scientific problems. Ora is a great example of a truly innovating company and I expect to see more real graphene products now come to market.”
Founded in 2017 and based in Montreal, Ora developed and manufactures advanced graphene materials for a variety of applications. Ora’s core product GrapheneQ is patent protected and exploits the incredible mechanical properties of graphene combined with advanced proprietary production techniques. The company was founded by a joint effort between McGill University and TandemLaunch Ventures.
Ora GrapheneQ has been tested in speaker cone membranes and already demonstrated to be able to produce louder drivers, with extended frequency response, that require less energy. GrapheneQ membranes are lighter and can move fast while requiring less damping in the lows, while pushing speaker “break-up” to super-sonic frequencies, and can be tuned to move heat away from the voice coil for better power handling.
“With this early capital infusion Ora can build upon the groundbreaking technology we invented at McGill and begin to deliver on our mission of being the global leader in graphene commercial applications,” notes Robert-Eric Gaskell, cofounder and VP of Product as well as the original inventor. “We began by solving a single vertical problem of improving sound quality and now look to exploit that knowledge and experience into broader markets.”
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