France-based sound system producer Devialet has secured €100m ($106m) in a funding round led by Ginko Ventures, the European corporate venturing division of contract manufacturer Foxconn, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Foxconn also made a direct investment itself, alongside its consumer electronics subsidiary Sharp Corporation, car maker Groupe Renault and Korelya Capital, an investment fund backed by internet company Naver and its messenger subsidiary Line.
Future French Champions, a partnership between Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority and French public financial institution CDC International Capital, also participated as did France’s public investment bank Bpifrance.
Remaining backers include CM-CIC Investissement, the venture capital arm of financial services firm Crédit Industriel et Commercial, Playground Global and Roc Nation, an investment vehicle for musician Jay Z.
Devialet produces speaker systems primarily geared at audiophiles and has released two products so far. The company’s technology, coupled with proprietary audio codecs, removes sound distortion usually present in small speakers.
Devialet has filed 107 patents to date and will use part of the funding to add more. The company also hopes to expand its retail activities, adding to its stores in Paris, London and New York City while supporting an ongoing partnership with Apple to sell its Phantom speakers in the technology company’s stores.
Additionally, the company will use the strategic investments by the corporates to embed its technology into televisions built by Sharp and cars made by Renault and collaborate with Jay Z’s music streaming service Tidal or Naver’s Line Music offering.
The company has now secured $155m in total funding. Other shareholders include angel investors Bernard Arnault, Jean-Antoine Granjon, Xavier Niel and Marc Simoncini.