GRAZ, AUSTRIA — USound, a company specializing in MEMS speakers for wearable and portable devices, has announced that it received a €10 million (~$11M USD) growth investment supporting high-volume MEMS production ramp-ups for various true-wireless-stereo (TWS) earbud and over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid customers.
This growth investment round was led by eQventure, Austria’s leading venture capital investor, and saw participation from prominent figures in the technology industry, including Andreas “Andy” Bechtolsheim, known for co-founding Sun Microsystems and being an early investor in Google, as well as Hermann Hauser, a successful serial entrepreneur and co-founder of ARM.
The USound management team, comprising Ferruccio Bottoni (CEO), Andrea Rusconi-Clerici (CTO), and Herbert Gartner (CFO), also contributed to the investment.
Supporting Growth of TWS and OTC Market
USound’s MEMS speakers are said to have several advantages compared to other alternatives. These speakers take up 50% less space, consume 80% less energy, and offer a wider frequency range, helping ensure excellent audio performance. They can be seamlessly integrated into various devices such as Bluetooth earphones, headphones, smartphones, VR/AR glasses, wearables, and OTC hearing aids.
The appeal of USound’s thin, lightweight, and full-range MEMS speakers lies in their flexibility of integration and the benefits of the accompanying amplifier. Their smaller size enhances the design and comfort of future wearables, providing users with a more comfortable and stylish experience. Additionally, the SMT reflow capability of these speakers reduces system costs, enabling fully automated assembly of audio products with the highest quality and performance. In comparison to pure monolithic MEMS solutions, “USound’s MEMS speakers are smaller and offer higher sound pressure levels, better sound quality, and lower manufacturing costs”.
“After announcing our cooperations with major audio ODMs like Luxshare-ICT at the end of 2022 and Concraft / OBO Pro2 at the beginning of 2023, many OEM customers started using USound’s MEMS speakers for their next generation audio products. A new age for the audio industry has just begun”
–Ferruccio Bottoni, CEO of USound
About Andy Bechtolsheim
Andy Bechtolsheim is the co-founder and Chief Development Officer and Chairman of Arista Networks. In 1982, he cofounded the tech hardware firm Sun Microsystems with Bill Joy, Scott McNealy and Vinod Khosla. Oracle bought Sun in 2010 for $7.4 billion. Much of his fortune stems from an early investment in Google. Bechtolsheim studied Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University.
About USound
USound is a fast-growing MEMS loudspeaker company enabling customers to bring new revolutionary audio products to the market. USound’s unique selling proposition is based on radical miniaturization, power reduction and increased production efficiency. USound products are safeguarded by over 350 patents. Learn more on www.usound.com
Source: USound
