Photo Credit: Markus Winkler
Uppsala, Sweden-based sound-technology company Dirac has raised $17.73 million via “a direct share equity issue,” higher-ups have confirmed.
Dirac – which has offices in Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai, as well as an R&D facility in Copenhagen – detailed the funding benchmark today, in a formal release that was emailed to Digital Music News.
According to this announcement message, Nordic-focused investment company TIN Fonder (a new Dirac backer) and the 10-year-old DIG Investment (an existing investor) fronted the multimillion-dollar tranche, with each party having contributed $8.9 million.
Moreover, the transaction values Dirac at north of $140 million and positions the business “to fully leverage and lead what it believes will be the next great era in audio driven by software rather than hardware alone.”
Throughout the last year, Dirac “has experienced marked success across all of its core channels,” per the document, including home audio, headphone, streaming, and mobile. Said success encompasses “key OEM deals” with the likes of Amsterdam-based Philips, Seoul-headquartered Hyundai, Gothenburg, Sweden’s Volvo, and more.
Additionally, the release relays that 20-year-old Dirac has “developed new sales channels,” including “working directly with semiconductor and middleware companies…to integrate Dirac audio directly into chipsets and platforms.”
Lastly, Dirac – which in April enlisted Duran Duran guitarist Dom Brown to tout its products – used the latter portion of the release to highlight the leadership pivots it’s implemented to this point in 2021, “to fully capitalize on this software-driven industry trend.”
Peter Friedrichsen joined as CEO in January, for instance, while Dirac co-founder and former head Mathias Johansson then became chief product officer. Wade Giles signed on as VP of North America, “to drive new partnerships with semiconductor manufacturers,” and Klas Åström was named CFO.
Addressing his company’s newly completed funding round in a statement, Friedrichsen struck an optimistic tone with regard to Dirac’s potential for growth in the coming years.
“We have traveled a long way since company inception. We evolved from a niche designer of digital audio solutions for specific applications to a tier one company in audio technology, collaborating with many the world’s largest and most esteemed tech brands,” said the former Bergenstråhle & Partners partner and CEO.
“Now, with our new funding and realigned executive leadership team, we’re poised to fully capitalize on our growth potential and intend to make Dirac synonymous with superior sound experiences around the world,” he finished.
Last month, Round Hill Music acquired the master recordings of Swedish label Telegram Studios, whereas Sony Music Publishing officially partnered with the publishing division of Stockholm-headquartered The Very Good in late April.
In other funding news, May saw rap-discovery platform Rapchat raise $2.3 million, and career- and business-advice video platform Bonsai closed its seed-funding round after receiving $5.3 million in support. Plus, OneOf, a music NFT platform backed by Quincy Jones, revealed about five days ago that it had generated $63 million in seed capital.