Aachen, Germany-based deep-tech startup Elevear announced on Monday that it has secured an undisclosed seed investment from the TechVision Fund, an early-stage VC investor in the Rhineland.
With the fresh capital, the startup plans to bring its patented audio technologies to market and accelerate the company’s growth.
Elevear’s CEO, Stefan Liebich, says, ”We are very pleased that TVF shares our vision for the technology and its market potential. We are now in a great position to support our ongoing customer projects and their forthcoming product launches and to grow our team and technology portfolio.”
Elevear: Helps improve listening comfort and wearability
Dr.Ing. Stefan Liebich, Johannes Fabry, and Raphael Brandis founded Elevear in 2021 as a deep-tech spin-off of RWTH Aachen University.
Elevear focuses on selling its technologies and software algorithms to international manufacturers of headphones and hearing aids through a licensing model.
Elevear currently offers three products:
- Occlear technology: This compensates for the occlusion effect commonly experienced with headphones and hearing aids with a closed design, which makes voices sound muffled and booming. Occlear ensures that users perceive their voice and surroundings naturally.
- Idle Noise Reduction: This technology eliminates distracting self-noise from hearable microphones, enhancing the listening experience.
- Steadyhead technology: This technology provides spatial audio with low-latency head tracking.
All three technologies are pure software solutions, making them compatible with common hearables without the need for specialised hardware. Elevear’s goal is to improve listening comfort, wearability, and natural communication, thereby enhancing the overall user experience.
The investor
The TechVision Fund (TVF) is an early-stage VC fund in Rhineland. TVF is the third venture fund managed by the S-UBG Group team and invests regionally in technology startups with a fund volume of €55M.
The network comprises over 150 successful portfolio companies with 30 years of investment experience.
“The market for hearables is growing steadily with a strong demand for distinguishing features,” says Dr. Ansgar Schleicher, Managing Director of TVF.
“Elevear’s technologies help manufacturers to quickly integrate innovative features into their products without having to invest years of development effort within the company themselves,” adds Schleicher.
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