Porsche invests in DSP Concepts, creator of Audio Weaver software

German sports car manufacturer Porsche has purchased a stake in Silicon Valley-based DSP Concepts, Inc. A total of 14.5 million US dollars (rs 105 crore) was invested in the company as part of a series B financing round. Consequently, the overall investment volume in the company, established in 2003, has increased to over 25 million US dollars (Rs 180 crore). Other companies investing in addition to Porsche Ventures include BMW iVentures, Innovation Growth Ventures/Sony Innovation Fund, MediaTek Ventures and the ARM IoT fund.

DSP Concepts specialises in developing software for audio signal processing and audio algorithms. The company offers an audio development platform (Audio Weaver) to streamline the audio development process. Audio Weaver is an innovative hardware-independent platform designed for in-house audio algorithm development. The software is currently used in more than 40 million devices within the automotive and consumer goods industry, including at Porsche. DSP Concepts has also developed an intelligent software called TalkTo, which guarantees reliable voice control even at significant ambient noise levels.

The company has its headquarters in Santa Clara, California, and also runs subsidiaries in Boston, Stuttgart and Shanghai. DSP Concepts plans to use the collected funds to expand worldwide. The opening of a new office in Taiwan this year marks the start of this process.

“We are all familiar with the unique Porsche combustion engine sound. We transferred this essential Porsche element to electric powertrains with our first electrically driven sports car, the Taycan. DSP Concepts’ technology makes it possible for our engineers to implement an individual sound concept for the Taycan and to create a unique Porsche sound signature,” said Oliver Seifert, Vice-President of Electrics/Electronics Development at Porsche. “For this reason, we endeavour to further intensify our cooperation with the highly skilled DSP Concepts team.”

“The development process involving the audio environment stalled in the 1990s. However, audio experiences have never been as crucial to the success of techno-logical products as today,” said Chin Beckmann, co-founder and the CEO of DSP Concepts. “The Audio Weaver platform operates in real time and handles opti-misation across several chip ranges so that customers can concentrate on developing functions that set their products apart from those offered by competitors.”

“We like to consider Audio Weaver as an audio development kit: our product range includes more than 400 components. These include modules to support any type of highly efficient IoT devices, right down to ultra premium automotive systems,” explained Paul Beckmann, co-founder and the CTO at DSP Concepts.

Porsche Ventures invests in innovative technologies and business models world-wide. Through its venture capital activities, sports car manufacturer Porsche invests in new companies in their early and growth phases.