Vangrid Raises $9.0M Seed for Defense Grid

Sonical Inc

Sonical is unlocking your ears' secret weapon – an untapped resource of biometric data. We use our ears to make sense of what is going on around us, interacting with other people and learning. We also remain alert to background sounds to warn us of danger and, unfortunately, are often exposed to an increasing amount of noise. With the use of headphones, we can listen to music, podcasts, audio books, watch movies, make phone calls, and play games while chatting to our friends, while reducing some of the sound we are exposed to. In addition to listening to the world and listening to audio, we can listen to our bodies. The ear is an incredibly rich source of information for our general health and wellness. We can gather metrics such as heart rate and heart rate variability, oxygen level, motion, temperature, brain activity, voice metrics and many others. Regular monitoring of this data can provide essential insight and early warning signals that can enable medical professionals to better diagnose multiple conditions and even detect the impact of the medication we use. One of the main reasons we don’t do this at the ear today, despite the many benefits it provides, is because there is no computer there that can run the advanced AI algorithms that will transform how we use the products. Which leads us to headphone 3.0. The next generation of hearable devices, beyond basic Bluetooth headphones, will use an ear computer and operating system to allow everyone to download apps for their ears. We will be able to personalize how we hear the world, how we listen to audio and select the metrics and information gathered at the ear. This means, for example, we can determine whether a piece of music really can help us relax because we will be able to measure it, in real time. Following in the footsteps of the personal computer, the smartphone and the smartwatch, the inevitable transition to truly smart ear buds is the next major computing platform.