On September 1, Softbank Ventures Korea announced a joint investment deal with Capstone Partners for an amount US$920k which is to be invested into Gaudi Audio Lab.

When founded, Gaudi Audio Lab’s mission was to provides the ultimate sound experience that integrates sound and feeling.  This sound solution technology is aimed at complementing the emerging AR and VR markets.

Key members include experts at the Wilus Institute of Standard and Technology who led the international standard (ISO/IEC MPEG) in audio rendering techniques for headphone applications.

The technology is based on an innovative audio signal processing technique that is able to reproduce 3D stereophonic sounds required in virtual reality.  This experience will be delivered through normal headphones connected to a smartphone, and plans for its release are by end of this year.

Lee Eun Woo, the director at Softbank Ventures who led this investment, explained the investment motive that “Gaudi Audio Lab is an innovative business which has enough global competitiveness to be the best in the industry, beating the likes of Qualcomm and French Telecom”.

“The demand for this technology is expected to grow globally as it provides an exclusive sound solution for AR and VR, whilst other technology developments are focused only on the image processing technologies”, said Lee.

Oh Hyun Oh the representative of Gaudi Audio Lab revealed that through this investment, they plan to build the required foundation and establish a team of elite experts and industry leaders.