Frequently Asked Questions
Q1
What is actually your product? Is it some sort of hearing aid?
A1
Our product is software platform for effectively removing noise from speech in real-time, using AI. Our platform is generic and is relevant for all products where real-time speech clarity matters. I.e. our product is NOT a hearing aid, but our software is likely to be integrated by partners into a hearing aid or consumer product to alleviate hearing challenges. We are targeting two use cases, among which there are great synergies from both technical and commercial perspectives:
1: Control room software for critical communications (emergency, police, defence, air traffic management – covering radio communication as well as phone based communications)
- We have a commercial product ready and deployed, and the core technology is more than mature.
- The quality of the user experience increases as our core tech keeps advancing.
2: The Madrid test:
In the not-so-distant future, everyone should be able to enter a noisy bar in Madrid (or any similar loud environment), pop in their earbuds, and engage in a calm and effortless conversation. This benefit is universal, catering to individuals whether they have hearing loss, neurodiversity, or simply a preference for enjoying conversations without subsequent fatigue.
- The core technology is not yet mature to solve this use case. Expectedly, it will be ready within a few years.
- When ready, this will revolutionise the market, being the next must-have audio feature. Several of our partners in the audio hardware landscape share this belief. Currently, early adopters are integrating the technology in earbuds for online communication as a starting point.
Q2
The noise reduction tech is advancing quite quickly, and should be fairly competitive. What is your competitive edge, and why have you achieved it?
A2
Noise reduction technology is seeing rapid advancements, revolutionizing audio processing. The Critical Communications market is high-value given the pronounced problems and direct, significant costs associated with it. Here’s a summary of the specific challenges in this market and why we have a unique competitive edge:
Deployment/Technical Serviceability: We leverage synergies between long-term goal (the Madrid test) and short-term goal (Critical Communications)
- Challenge: The need for on-premises solutions, addressing hardware constraints, compatibility with legacy software platforms, and achieving 100% reliability.
- Competitors: Tend to offer web-based solutions, rely heavily on modern computation capabilities, use newer deployment frameworks, and often have integration architectures prone to instabilities (virtual drivers).
- Our Advantage: We’ve engineered our models to be 100% edge-based, primed for offline deployment. Our models are versatile, able to function from substantial servers down to earbud chips without extra development costs. Our deployment code, written in pure C, integrates seamlessly with any platform, ensuring unparalleled reliability and minimizing technical maintenance.
Trust & Reliability in a Conservative Market:
- Challenge: Overcoming stakeholder concerns about AI security, surveillance, data misuse, and adherence to stringent regulatory standards.
Competitors: Major AI companies are grappling with trust issues, while startups struggle for credibility and often lack experience with complex regulatory landscapes.
Our Advantage: Our seasoned team, impactful mission, and the offline “Sharpi in a box” demo build credibility, empathy, and trust, effectively alleviating privacy and reliability concerns. Additionally, our extensive experience in navigating medical device regulatory standards ensures that we are well-equipped to meet and exceed the regulatory requirements in critical communications, further enhancing our reliability and trustworthiness in the market.
Superior Performance and Data Moats:
- Challenge: AI and Machine Learning are now more accessible, but applying them effectively is another matter. Logging of audio data from Critical Communication calls is impossible due to security and compliance constraints.
- Competitors: Often take a traditional machine learning approach, and face difficulties in customizing their solutions due to data constraints.
- Our Advantage: Leveraging deep insights in Psychoacoustics, DSP, and auditory neuroscience elevate our model’s performance. Notably, tech leaders like Krisp’s CTO have shown interest in our psychoacoustic solutions. To create moats based on data advantages, we have designed a feedback loop allowing end-users to send back anonymized audio examples to us, which we decode using our audio domain competencies to reproduce underlying acoustic scenarios and model millions of new data points.
Q3
How do you stay competitive?
A3
- We are committed to building and maintaining trustworthy relationships, fortifying switching barriers. Being the first player in the market with high reliability offers a distinct advantage.
- Our unique data feedback loop allows customization to individual user segments, posing a significant challenge for competitors.
- Our sustained focus on deploying technology to ear-level to meet the “Madrid test” ensures continuous innovation, especially when others are diversifying into non-core functionalities, like e.g. virtual backgrounds for home office or Studio processing software for offline processing of recorded audio.
Q4
How is the service packaged? How do you deliver the service today / tomorrow?
A4
- We offer a SaaS license, priced at €9,000 per user annually. We also accommodate customers preferring CAPEX over OPEX, offering extended licenses.
- Our licenses are delivered to partners to integrate with their premium products. We maintain a direct line to select customer accounts for feedback, ensuring continuous improvement.
- Simultaneously, we license directly to a few Danish customers, gathering invaluable direct feedback. For these clients, we initiate with a demo box pilot.
Q5
What customer traction do you have today? What are they paying for your service?
A5
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- We have the Greater Copenhagen Fire Department onboard, with an annual contract of €36,000. We recently introduced a new feature to allow them to have Sharpi default enabled, incurring a development fee of €14,750.
- Following provides an overview of the recent additions to our customer pipeline:
Direct Contact with Danish Customers:
- National Law Enforcement Agency:
- Engaged in dialogue with multiple stakeholders and working on a pilot project.
- The organization is substantial but an ideal customer that is maturing.
- Aim to execute a pilot project in Q4 2023.
- Regional Emergency & Ambulance Service:
- Contact established, and interest is shown.
- Planning for a pilot is underway.
- Major Airport Operations Center:
- Demonstrated interest.
- Currently in commercial negotiations with a delivery partner.
Partnerships on Control Room Solutions:
- International Public Safety Communications Solutions Provider::
- Nearly finalized with the demo setup, integrating our technology directly into their platform.
- Foremost Manufacturer of Communication Equipment for Emergency Services and Public Safety:
- Implementation of the pilot has started.
- Both commercial and technical teams are very eager.
Other Projects (not control rooms; we support these opportunistically with limited resources for relationship building and monitoring new segments):
- Prominent Earbud Operating System Provider:
- Using our speech enhancement as a cornerstone feature in their latest earbud operating system (they provide software to a significant portion of the global market).
- Investing development resources in porting.
- Major Hearing Aid Manufacturer:
- Presented to the group CEO and all directors.
- A follow-up meeting regarding a pure app-based accessory product is scheduled.
Various Other Customer Dialogues:
- Maintaining relationships with quarterly touchpoints, including a well-known Audio Equipment Company, a Renowned Global Provider of Computer Accessories and Software, and a significant Hearing Aid Manufacturer in China.