US-based wireless earplug manufacturer Doppler Labs closed a $17m series B round yesterday led by online media company Chernin Group.
Wildcat Capital Management and Acequia Capital also contributed to the round, which received funding last month from live event promoter Live Nation Entertainment, talent and literary agency William Morris Endeavor and record company Universal Music Group.
Founded in 2013, Doppler has sold almost 250,000 units of its first product, a $25 mechanial earbud called Bud. It revealed earlier this month that it has successfully raised more than $635,000 in crowdfunding – two and a half times the campaign goal – for its next product, the Here Active Listening System.
The wireless Hear Active earbuds are controlled with a smartphone app and enable a user to filter out the precise sounds they want to hear around them. The technology makes it possible, for example, to eliminate audience noise at a live concert.
Doppler will use the series B funding to further develop its technology, increase its 47-strong team and accelerate its product launch timeline. It has not disclosed details about previous funding rounds, but raised at least $1m in its seed round according to TechCrunch.
Noah Kraft, chief executive and co-founder of Doppler, said: “We are humbled and elated by the response from media and consumers after unveiling the Here Active Listening System, and by the support we have received from investors.
“We envision a post-mobile future where all people use a computer, speaker and mic in their ears to enhance how they interact with each other and their environment, and we work every day to create products that move us closer to achieving that vision.”