EQVenture invests $10m in USound

The VC is the majority owner of the company with a 70% stake. The remaining 30% is split between the company's three founders, Jörg Schönbacher, Andrea Rusconi-Clerici and Ferruccio Bottoni.

The fresh capital will be used to develop the next generation of the company's electrodynamic speakers. Currently the micro-speakers are used in headphones and 3D glasses but the company plans to expand into tablets and smart phones.

Previous funding
In 2016, EQVenture invested €5m in the company. In the same year, the company received a grant of €50,000 from the EU Executive Agency for SMEs.

EQVenture then invested €12m in 2017 and led a $20m funding round in November 2018. One of the firm's investors is Hermann Hauser, who was involved in the spin-out of chip developer ARM, which was sold to Softbank for $31.4bn in 2016.

Company
USound was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Graz. It develops micro-speakers for a range of applications, including smartphones, earbuds, and audio modules for augmented reality and 3D glasses. It partners with chip manufacturers including STMicroelectronics, Flex and AT&S.

The company employs 60 people in Graz, Vienna, San Francisco and Shenzhen.

People
EQVenture – Herbert Gartner (managing director).
USound – Jörg Schönbacher, Andrea Rusconi-Clerici, Ferruccio Bottoni (co-founders).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Expansion
• DACH
• Industrials
• Austria
• Venture