Nura (company)

Nura was a consumer electronics company based in Melbourne, Australia, that designed and manufactured headphones with personalized sound technology. Nura's proprietary technology automatically measures the user's hearing sensitivities to different frequencies by monitoring sounds generated from the inner ear.[1] This hearing measurement process takes 1–2 minutes.[2] The headphones then adapt their frequency response to the user's hearing, allowing them to hear more detail when listening to music.[3]

Nura
TypePrivately held company
IndustryPersonalized Audio Technology
Founded2015
FoundersDr. Dragan Petrovic, Dr. Luke Campbell, Kyle Slater
Defunct2023
FateAcquired by Denon
Headquarters
Melbourne
,
Australia
ProductsNuraphone
ParentNura Operations Pvt. Ltd.
Websitehttps://www.nuraphone.com

Nura's debut product, the Nuraphone, launched on October 3, 2017.[4]

In July 2018, Nura added active noise cancellation to their headphones via a software update.[5]

In April 2023, Nura was acquired by Denon, a part of the Masimo Corporation, to integrate their personalized audio technology into Denon earbuds and headphones. Denon discontinued the sale of Nura-branded products and the NuraNow subscription service shortly after, effectively rendering the Nura brand and company defunct. [6]

History

Nura was founded in 2015 by Dr. Luke Campbell, Dr. Dragan Petrović, and Kyle Slater.[7]

Funding

Nura was able to develop their debut product, the Nuraphone, with funding from the Melbourne Accelerator Program, HAX (a hardware accelerator program based out of Shenzhen, China), venture capital, and the use of a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. In 2015, the Melbourne Accelerator Program granted Nura an Entrepreneurial Fellowship, which provided monetary funding as well as office space and mentoring. In 2016, Nura joined HAX, and in the same year, they ran a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds to begin mass production of the Nuraphone.[8] The Kickstarter campaign ultimately raised $1.8 million (USD) from 7,730 backers to become the largest Kickstarter campaign in Australian history.[9] In May 2017, Nura raised a $6 million (AUD) seed-funding round, which was led by Blackbird Ventures,[10] with additional investment from SOSV,[11] Qualgro,[12] Sean Parker,[13] Craig Barratt,[14] the San Francisco 49ers and partners of Perkins Coie. The seed-funding round was followed by a $21 million (AUD) series A round also led by Blackbird Ventures.

Launch

Nura officially began operations on October 3, 2017, giving the general public access to the Nuraphone.[15]

Products

Nuraphone

The Nuraphone is a headphone that personalizes sound by measuring how the human ear responds to different sound frequencies[16][17] and is patent-protected as the only consumer electronics headphone to do so.[18]

Nuraphone /G2

Nura released a free firmware update for the Nuraphone in July 2018 that enabled additional features such as active noise cancellation, audio pass-through, and enhancements to voice calls and button presses.[19]

NuraLoop

In 2020, Nura released the NuraLoop wireless earbuds which repackaged the Nuraphone experience into a portable design intended to bring optimal sound performance to performers. The NuraLoop can be used both wired and wirelessly (16-hour battery life) allowing greater flexibility on the go. The NuraLoop was named an Innovation Award Honoree at CES in 2019.

NuraTrue

In 2021, Nura launched their latest product, NuraTrue, which are wireless headphones with the company's signature personalized sound technology. NuraTrue was listed in TIME's 100 Best Inventions of 2021 and awarded "Best Earbuds for Personalized Sound" in Rolling Stone Audio Awards 2022.

NuraBuds

Alongside NuraTrue, Nura launched NuraBuds exclusively on their subscription platform NuraNow in 2021. Unlike NuraTrue, NuraBuds cannot perform a hearing calibration, however a hearing profile created with any other Nura product can be imported onto the device.

Design and technology

The Nuraphone's personalization works by monitoring the user's otoacoustic emissions and then adjusting sound based on the measurements,[20] allowing the user to hear more detail when listening to music.[21] The Nuraphone has a patented design (Inova) that includes both in-ear monitors and over-ear cups,[22] and also features Tesla valves that circulate air through the ear cups to keep the user's ears cool during use.[23]

Awards

Nura won the Best of Innovation at the CES Innovation Awards 2018 for the Nuraphone.[24] The product also won the Red Dot Award 2018 Best of the Best in the consumer electronics category, the 2018 Good Design Australia Award for best product design in consumer electronics,[25] and the Gold at IDSA IDEA 2018 awards in the consumer technology category.[26] In 2021, the NuraTrue was listed in TIME's 100 Best Inventions of 2021 in the Custom Listening category, and in 2022, it was awarded Best Earbuds for Personalized Sound in Rolling Stone's Audio Awards.

References
  1. "These Headphones Scan Your Ears and Tune Themselves". WIRED. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  2. "Nuraphone review: Noise-cancelling headphones with a personal touch". The Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. "Nuraphones' custom profiles bring out new detail in familiar songs". TechCrunch. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. Kastrenakes, Jacob (3 October 2017). "Nura is finally ready to ship Kickstarter headphones that correct for hearing". The Verge. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  5. "Nuraphones update adds noise-cancellation and 'transparency' mode". Engadget. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  6. "Denon Earbuds to Deliver Unparalleled Personalized Listening Experiences With Nura's Self-Learning Technology". Masimo Consumer Audio News. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  7. ""We're better than all of them": How Melbourne headphones startup nura is planning to be as big as Bose - SmartCompany". SmartCompany. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  8. Kimmorley, Sarah (4 July 2016). "The best funded Australian Kickstarter campaign ever is for a set of revolutionary headphones". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  9. Kimmorley, Sarah (4 July 2016). "The best funded Australian Kickstarter campaign ever is for a set of revolutionary headphones". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  10. "Nura, a personalised headphone maker, raises $6 million led by Blackbird Ventures". Australian Financial Review. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  11. "Nura sounds warning to giants". www.theaustralian.com.au. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  12. Swan, David (12 December 2017). "Nura sounds a warning to global headphone giants". The Australian Business Review. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  13. "Nura raises $15m, led by Blackbird Ventures, to meet headphone demand". Australian Financial Review. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  14. Yoo, Tony (15 February 2017). "Music and tech investors gave $6 million to an Australian startup making headphones that adjust to your hearing". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  15. "Nura is finally ready to ship Kickstarter headphones that correct for hearing". The Verge. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  16. "Nuraphones: headphones reinvented?". Science Focus - BBC Focus Magazine. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  17. "Nura Claims Its Headphones "Automatically Measure Your Hearing"". Hearing Aid News. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  18. "Patents". www.nuraphone.com. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  19. "Nuraphones update adds noise-cancellation and 'transparency' mode". Engadget. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  20. "Nuraphones: headphones reinvented?". Science Focus - BBC Focus Magazine. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  21. "Nuraphones' custom profiles bring out new detail in familiar songs". TechCrunch. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  22. "Red Dot Design Award: nuraphone". www.red-dot.org. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  23. "Nuraphone headphones review". TechRadar. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  24. "CTA Announces Innovation Award Honorees for CES 2018" (Press release). Archived from the original on 20 December 2018.
  25. "nuraphones - Good Design". Good Design. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  26. "nuraphone". Industrial Designers Society of America - IDSA. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
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