Participated · Equity · Jul 2021

Sonarworks builds next-generation audio applications for professional studios and consumer devices, with its products used in roughly 70,000 studios worldwide. Founded in 2012 in Riga, the company gained attention after unveiling its Reference 3 product suite at NAMM in 2015. In early 2020 Sonarworks launched SoundID, a machine learning–based app that creates customized sound profiles via a hearing test. The firm has signed licensing agreements with partners and is expanding its licensing operations. Sonarworks plans to deepen its presence in the U.S. and enter Asian markets as part of a broader goal to bring better audio to over 1 billion devices. Financially, the company has raised a total of $13.8 million to date, including its latest $6 million round. Sonarworks develops digital sound calibration and personalization software that combines device-level calibration with individualized hearing profiles. The company maintains a database of more than 10,000 measured sound devices and uses AI-based technologies to precisely map individual hearing and sound preferences. By combining digital adjustment of the sound device and individual hearing data, Sonarworks aims to deliver a personalized sound experience for every individual on every device. It serves customers in over 170 countries. Founded in 2012 and led by CEO Helmuts Bems, the company plans to use new funding to develop its consumer calibration and personalization products and expand its market presence in key regions. The article notes a recent financing event that supports these product and expansion plans. Sonarworks builds software that eliminates sound shortcomings in speakers and headphones, including its Reference 3 calibration product used in professional audio. More than 5,000 studios worldwide use Reference 3, from home studios to recording studios where artists such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Lady Gaga record. The company has received industry recognition, winning Sound On Sound's Best Audio Product in 2016 and an Innovation Award from MusicTech. The fresh €700,000 from the third investment round will be used to develop a new product aimed at a wider consumer market to let listeners hear music as it was recorded regardless of playback device. Financially, Sonarworks has attracted €1.5 million in venture capital to date and reported that sales exceeded costs at the beginning of the year. The idea dates to 2012 and the company was officially registered in 2013.

Participated · Equity · Jan 2014

VitalFields offers cloud-based software and mobile apps that help farmers with plant disease and growth phase modeling, climatic pattern tracking, farm planning, stock management, and P&L reporting. Founded in 2011 at the Garage48 hackathon and an alumnus of accelerator Startup Wise Guys, the company has expanded its product beyond its original agricultural early warning system. It operates in Poland, Ukraine, Germany and Estonia. The product includes a recently launched app for machine operators and field workers aimed at eliminating paperwork. VitalFields positions itself as a classic SaaS play replacing paper-based or legacy agricultural tools. The company plans to use new capital for further product development and to boost its presence across Europe. VitalFields provides cloud-based web and mobile apps that consolidate farm data and automate tasks such as plant disease and growth-phase modelling, hyperlocal weather tracking, farm planning, stock management and P&L reporting. The product is positioned as a SaaS replacement for paper-based or legacy farm-management tools and includes automation and data consolidation to surface actionable insights. The company serves roughly 1,500 farms worldwide. VitalFields plans to use its latest capital to customise its solution for several new European countries and to invest in R&D, specifically analytics and machine-learning to help farmers become more efficient. To date the startup has raised a total of €750,000 and traces its origins to a 2011 Garage48 hackathon; it is also an alumnus of accelerator Startup Wise Guys. VitalFields is an Estonian startup that helps farmers make better use of data by supplying precise weather data for individual fields alongside disease and pest forecasting. The platform offers tools to reduce the labor of logging farm data, enabling automated forecasts and a farm efficiency analysis. The company is building global pest and disease warning models and plans to add HyperLocal weather forecasting to those models to warn farmers early and provide advice on prevention and combatting issues, according to CEO Martin Rand. VitalFields graduated from the Startup Wise Guys accelerator. Financially, the company recently closed a €250,000 (approx. $318k) seed round. The investment was led by SmartCap with participation from Arvi Tavasti valduse and Wiser Financial Advisors.