Google has been on a buying spree for audio startups. Over the past 15 months, Google has made four acquisitions, spending tens of millions of dollars to acquire intellectual property, technology and talent in audio hardware.
The acquisitions could help the company strengthen its wireless earbuds and potentially protect itself from future patent lawsuits. A Google spokesman declined to comment.
Synaptics
The prelude to the acquisition of audio startups began in December 2020, when it struck a deal with longtime partner Synaptics to take over part of the company’s audio hardware business.
According to regulatory filings, the deal, which had not been reported before, was worth $35 million. In exchange, Google got multiple patents and patent applications for audio hardware, including “balanced stereo headphones” and “active noise-canceling earbuds.”
In the transaction, Google also brought in some Synaptics employees, including Trausti Thormundsson, vice president and general manager of audio. He previously served as CTO at Conexant, the audio hardware company itself that was acquired by Synaptics in 2017 and was key to the company’s audio hardware efforts. As for what the team is doing now at Google, a colleague of Thormundsson sums it up on LinkedIn: “Silicon – Audio – Power – Wearables”. (Semiconductor-Audio-Power-Wearable)
Dysonics
In the same month, Google also acquired 3D audio startup Dysonics for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which was first reported last year, includes patents and talent; Dysonics previously developed 3D audio creation software and motion-tracking hardware for headphones. Technology developed by Dysonics could help Google add spatial audio to future headphone projects, among other things.
RevX
Time enters 2021, and Google continues to acquire audio companies. It acquired the intellectual property of RevX Technologies, a defunct Austin startup that built a small portable device optimized for in-ear monitors for performing musicians. The device has garnered accolades from artists including Black Eyed Peas rapper Taboo, jazz musician Cindy Blackman and former Guns and Roses drummer Matt Sorum.
As part of the deal, RevX CTO Dennis Rauschmayer joined Google, where he now works as an “algorithm architect,” according to his LinkedIn profile. Patents included in the deal include methods for noise-canceling headphones through in-ear microphones, among other things.
Speed
Finally, Google acquired French audio wearables startup Tempow in May 2021 for a reported $17.4 million. Tempow has been developing what it calls “the first true wireless earbud operating system” and has commercial relationships with Android phone makers like Motorola and TCL.
Some of the patents and patent applications included in the acquisition deal with things like “switching between multiple earbud architectures” and “low-latency Bluetooth earbuds.” In addition to intellectual property, most of Tempow’s 21 employees have joined Google.
There are many reasons why Google might buy companies in this space and their intellectual property. These acquisitions are likely to be defensive, with Google looking to strengthen its patent portfolio against any future lawsuits. The company is currently in a legal battle with Sonos over alleged patent infringement; it recently had to disable some features to avoid import bans on its devices.
However, as part of these deals, Google also hired entire teams, a sign that it wants to use these companies to improve its own audio products. And it’s further staffing. In early 2021, Google hired longtime Bose engineer Peter Liu.
Liu was a board member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) for many years and was involved in the development of the Bluetooth LE audio standard that will play a key role in the next generation of audio wearables.
The job posting also shows that Google wants to run an experimental acoustics lab for audio technology innovation in Irvine, Calif., where most of the former Synaptics employees work. The company is hiring for multiple positions to develop custom audio chips that “bring key features that differentiate our first-party devices.”
Taken together, these acquisitions, hiring and related moves show that Google is trying to significantly expand its audio hardware business, with wearables a key focus.
The company first entered the earbuds market in 2017 with the Pixel Buds; it has since released two iterations. Sometime last summer, Google halted sales of the second-generation Pixel Buds, suggesting an update may become.