This article showcases Startup Pill’s top picks for the best audio startups. These startups are taking a variety of approaches to innovating inside of the audio industry and around the world. They are all exceptional startups well worth a follow.
We selected these startups for exceptional performance in one of these categories:
- Innovation
- Innovative ideas
- Innovative route to market
- Innovative product
- Growth
- Exceptional growth
- Exceptional growth strategy
- Management
- Societal impact
Welp Magazine hosts a yearly startup award honouring the most outstanding entrepreneurs and high-growth businesses in the world. If you want to enter your startup to be in the running for the top startup of 2021 or learn more about our competition click here.
1. Qcode
The idea behind this startup: Qcode is an audio production studio.
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Audio, Digital Entertainment, Music
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]2. Canela Media
The idea behind this startup: Canela Media operates as a digital media company.
Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
Industries: Advertising, Audio, Digital Media, Marketing
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]3. Dorm
The idea behind this startup: Dorm is an audio learning app that aggregates and curates the world’s podcasting content.
Headquarters: London, England, United Kingdom
Industries: Audio, Consumer Applications, Education, Mobile Apps, Podcast
Founders: Ranbir Arora, Taras Polischuk
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]4. Yac
The idea behind this startup: Yac is a digital voice messaging service developing a broad range of hosted messaging and communications services.
Headquarters: Kissimmee, Florida, United States
Industries: Audio, Collaboration, Enterprise, Messaging, Software, VoIP
Founders: Hunter McKinley, Jordan Walker, Justin Mitchell
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]5. Journify – The Audio Journaling App
The idea behind this startup: Start an audio timeline of your life’s journey. Encrypted & easy-to-share voice notes. Free burnout tracking included.
Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Industries: Audio, Health Care, Social Media, Wellness
Founders: Lamia Pardo, Trey O’Neill
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]6. Vurbl
The idea behind this startup: Vurbl is a creator-first, free streaming audio platform for all audio types, including user generated audio.
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California, United States
Industries: Audio, Streaming, Podcasts, Music, Advertising
Founders: Audra Gold, Baron Ginnetti, Jerry Boonstra
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]7. Sounder.fm
The idea behind this startup: Sounder.fm is a platform that helps audio creators manage, market, and measure their audio content.
Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
Industries: Audio, Internet, Music
Founders: Dan Daugherty, Kal Amin
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]8. Luther.ai – NEVER FORGET
The idea behind this startup: Luther.ai is a startup building your own artificial intelligence to augment your human memory so you never forget.
Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Audio, Human Computer Interaction, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Speech Recognition
Founders: Kristie Kaiser, Marc Ettlinger, Sharon Zhang, Suman Kanuganti
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]9. Stacks
The idea behind this startup: Stacks is a social video studio building the future of entertainment
Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
Industries: Audio, Internet, Media and Entertainment, Mobile, Music, Social, Video
Founders: Danny Quick, Nathan McCartney
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]10. Waves Vietnam Podcasts
The idea behind this startup: Waves Vietnam Podcasts operates as an audio and podcast startup.
Headquarters: Ho Chi Minh City, NA – Vietnam, Vietnam
Industries: Audio, Podcast
Founders: Ben Minh Le
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]11. stand.fm
The idea behind this startup: stand.fm is an audio distribution application that anyone can record and deliver.
Headquarters: Sarugaku, Tokyo, Japan
Industries: Apps, Audio, Content
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]12. Gossip
The idea behind this startup: Create and share voice stories!
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Audio, Consumer, Information Technology, Social Network, Software
Founders: Gleb Braverman
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]13. Zvook
The idea behind this startup: Zvook is a smart platform that matches brands with podcasts.
Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Industries: Advertising, Audio, Brand Marketing, Digital Media, Podcast
Founders: Anna Ratala, Malik Alimoekhamedov
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]14. Swell
The idea behind this startup: Swell is a podcast-like application where listeners also participate in the conversation.
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Apps, Audio, Podcast, Software
Founders: Arish Ali
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]15. Listle
The idea behind this startup: Listle allows people to listen to audio articles on the Internet.
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States
Industries: Apps, Audio, Information Services, Internet
Founders: Alexandru Enache, Cristina Bunea
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]16. MatchCasts
The idea behind this startup: MatchCasts is an ad-tech platform that automates podcast advertising for brands to create audio campaign that resonate with their audience.
Headquarters: Singapore, Central Region, Singapore
Industries: Advertising Platforms, Audio, Brand Marketing, Digital Media, Podcast
Founders: Jaime Ng
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]17. RecTag
The idea behind this startup: RecTag is a podcast discovery platform that discovers new and trending podcasts episodes and personalizes podcast experience for free.
Headquarters: Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Audio, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Podcast, SaaS, Speech Recognition
Founders: Florian Polak, Lukas Rintelen, Michael Schramm
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]18. Tokyo6 Entertainment
The idea behind this startup: Tokyo6 Entertainment plans and produces voice synthesis software.
Headquarters: Minami-aoyama, Tokyo, Japan
Industries: Audio, Media and Entertainment, Software
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]19. Audio Fusion System
The idea behind this startup: Audiofusion is audio software that allows one to use the phone as a wireless receiver for in-ear monitors.
Headquarters: Austin, Texas, United States
Industries: Audio, Information Technology, Software
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]20. musicube
The idea behind this startup: B2B SaaS for music search
Headquarters: Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Industries: Audio, B2B, Big Data, Music, Music Streaming, SaaS
Founders: David Hoga
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]21. JusticeText
The idea behind this startup: JusticeText is strengthening the ability of public defenders to analyze this crucial data with our evidence management software.
Headquarters: Irvine, California, United States
Industries: Audio, Software, Video
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]22. AUDIGO LABS
The idea behind this startup: AUDIGO LABS is an information technology company that features a software application platform that specializes in audio recording.
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Apps, Audio, Mobile Apps, Software
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]23. Syncify
The idea behind this startup: Syncify reverses the current nature of social media. Instead of creating media about ourselves, we will encourage connection around media.
Headquarters: London, England, United Kingdom
Industries: Audio, Audiobooks, Mobile Apps, Podcast, Social Media
Founders: Jack Hughes, Sam Harris
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]24. listenable
The idea behind this startup: Listenable is a provider of audio courses through its app that also features 5-minute lessons, voice by experts, and a range of subjects.
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Apps, Audio, E-Learning
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]25. Zammo
The idea behind this startup: Zammo is an artificial intelligence voice computing platform that automates business through voice commands.
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Audio, Software
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]26. Aflorithmic Labs
The idea behind this startup: Hyper-personalized, engaging audio experiences produced at scale using AI voice synthesis and ethical voice cloning.
Headquarters: London, England, United Kingdom
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Audio, Machine Learning, Personalization, SaaS, Speech Recognition
Founders: Björn Uhss, Peadar Coyle, Timo Kunz
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]27. Auddy
The idea behind this startup: Podcast Publisher & global distribution
Headquarters: London, England, United Kingdom
Industries: Audio, Content Delivery Network, Content Marketing, Internet Radio, Podcast
Founders: Andrew Craissati, Chris Ancliff, Howie Singer, Sean Carey
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]28. ABF Creative
The idea behind this startup: A multiethnic podcast network that bridges the gap between culture and media.
Headquarters: Newark, New Jersey, United States
Industries: Audio, Media and Entertainment, Podcast
Founders: Anthony Frasier
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]29. Elastic Audio
The idea behind this startup: Elastic Audio is a platform for creating real-time audio in games and beyond.
Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Industries: Audio, Music, Video Games
Founders: Andrew Beck, Cary Collins
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]30. Starbeat Entertainment
The idea behind this startup: Starbeat Entertainment is a visual and audio production company.
Headquarters: North Hollywood, California, United States
Industries: Audio, Media and Entertainment, Music
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]31. Touchbase
The idea behind this startup: Google Maps for virtual meetings –helping remote workers hold shorter meetings by guiding them through a list of objectives.
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Industries: Audio, Internet, Video Conferencing
Founders: Joe Taylor
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]32. AudioDots
The idea behind this startup: Text to Speach | Audio streaming of news articles. Monetizing audio for online news.
Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel
Industries: Advertising, Audio, Mobile, Music, News
Founders: Itay Rubinstein, Noam Ordan, Yoel Frischoff
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]33. Instruments of Things
The idea behind this startup: We turn people into music.
Headquarters: Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Industries: Audio, Consumer Electronics, Hardware, Internet of Things, Media and Entertainment, Motion Capture, Music, Musical Instruments, Nightclubs, Nightlife
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]34. Adio
The idea behind this startup: A platform for musicians to collaborate on their music remotely
Headquarters: Unknown
Industries: Audio, Music
Founders: Blaine Kasten, Cole Voss
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]35. Fauna
The idea behind this startup: Smart glasses that look great and sound awesome: Crystal clear sound quality in four frame designs – Take your calls with just one touch
Headquarters: Graz, Steiermark, Austria
Industries: Audio, Electronics, Eyewear, Wearables
Founders: Andrea Rusconi Clerici, Ferruccio Bottoni, Joerg Schoenbacher
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]36. Paradiso podcasts
The idea behind this startup: PARADISO creates and produces formats designed for international audiences on global platforms
Headquarters: Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Industries: Audio, Digital Entertainment, Digital Media, Media and Entertainment, Podcast
Founders: Benoit Dunaigre, Lorenzo Benedetti, Louis Daboussy
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]37. Spotics
The idea behind this startup: Spotics develops products and services that feature the capture of next-generation audio.
Headquarters: Trondheim, Sor-Trondelag, Norway
Industries: 3D Technology, Audio, Augmented Reality, Hardware, Information Technology, Product Design, Software, Virtual Reality
Founders: Jonas Rinde
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]38. Vaarta – Where India Talks
The idea behind this startup: A digital audio platform for original shows and audio stories in vernacular.
Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Industries: Apps, Audio, Audiobooks, Mobile Apps, Podcast
Founders: Senthil Venkat
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]39. Playpost
The idea behind this startup: Playpost transforms articles on the web into audio using artificial intelligence to create natural-sounding audio. Just like audiobooks.
Headquarters: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
Industries: Android, Apps, Artificial Intelligence, Audio, iOS, Mobile Apps, Natural Language Processing
Founders: Jordy van den Aardweg
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]40. Garnett.ai
The idea behind this startup: Garnett.ai uses deep neural networks for video translation and dubbing. Original audio is used to add intonation to the translated version.
Headquarters: Unknown
Industries: Audio, Machine Learning, Software, Translation Service
Founders: Egor Pakhomov
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]41. Chaos Audio
The idea behind this startup: Consumer Audio Electronics
Headquarters: Panama City Beach, Florida, United States
Industries: Audio, Music
Founders: Landon McCoy
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]42. WePlace
The idea behind this startup: The advertising space of the future.
Headquarters: Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Industries: Audio, EBooks, Marketing, Video
Founders: Unknown
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[adace-ad id=”4426″]43. EARS
The idea behind this startup: EARS develops a mobile application that offers in-house produced audio content.
Headquarters: Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan
Industries: Apps, Audio, Content
Founders: Unknown
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44. Soundfry
The idea behind this startup: Soundfry is the advanced audio sharing platform. It is the best way to start your own audio sharing profile.
Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Industries: Audio, Music
Founders: Unknown
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45. OVICE
The idea behind this startup: OVICE is a virtual space based on voice chat.
Headquarters: Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Industries: Audio, Events, Information Services, Information Technology
Founders: Unknown
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46. Wawlee
The idea behind this startup: Smart Home Audio
Headquarters: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, United States
Industries: Audio, Lighting, Smart Home, Software
Founders: Nick Pawson
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47. Listening Dog Media
The idea behind this startup: Listening Dog Media is a production company that specializes in interesting podcasts, programming led branded content & radio programmes.
Headquarters: Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Industries: Audio, Podcast
Founders: Unknown
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48. Agagames – interactive games in audio format.
The idea behind this startup: Narrative audio games with a non-linear plot.
Headquarters: Riga, Riga, Latvia
Industries: Audio, Audiobooks, Education, Information Technology, Mobile Apps, Online Games
Founders: Romans Puskarjovs
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49. Bridge.audio
The idea behind this startup: Cloud-based SaaS for music professionals
Headquarters: Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Industries: Audio, Music, SaaS, Software
Founders: Unknown
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50. Voizy
The idea behind this startup: The first open audio meme platform in the world
Headquarters: Unknown
Industries: Audio, Social Network, Software
Founders: Kai Lemmetty
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51.OD&D
The idea behind this startup: OD&D Vintage audio Your supplier of vintage, used and B-stock audio products.
Headquarters: Alkmaar, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
Industries: Audio, Video Editing
Founders: Unknown
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51.OD&D
The idea behind this startup: OD&D Vintage audio Your supplier of vintage, used and B-stock audio products.
Headquarters: Alkmaar, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
Industries: Audio, Video Editing
Founders: Unknown
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46. MalianTube
The idea behind this startup: MalianTube is the web, mobile and desktop audio-visual streaming platform in Mali.
Headquarters: Bamako, Bamako, Mali
Industries: Audio, Media and Entertainment
Founders: Unknown
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47. Sound Wave Shop
The idea behind this startup: Sound Wave Shop is a technological and smart way to keep the precious sounds of your life forever.
Headquarters: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Industries: Audio, E-Commerce, Information Technology, Internet, Printing, Software
Founders: Unknown
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46. iVOICE
The idea behind this startup: iVOICE specializes in social implementation of speech analysis AI.
Headquarters: Minami-shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Audio
Founders: Unknown
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55. un.studios
The idea behind this startup: Music Production, Sound Design
Headquarters: Graz, Steiermark, Austria
Industries: Audio, Music
Founders: Unknown
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56. POPCINEMA
The idea behind this startup: One stop sync music agency that represents recording artists & labels that record original music for the motion pictures industry.
Headquarters: Austin, Texas, United States
Industries: Audio, Creative Agency, Music, Music Label, Publishing
Founders: Binal Shah, Maureen McNally, Shane Cormier
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57. Resonate
The idea behind this startup: News Radio. Personalized and On-Demand.
Headquarters: Unknown
Industries: Audio, Internet Radio, Media and Entertainment, Mobile, Mobile Apps
Founders: Drew Delaware
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58. 8-TRACKSHOP.EU
The idea behind this startup: 8-TRACKSHOP.EU is a webshop to buy repaired 8-track tapes.
Headquarters: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
Industries: Audio, E-Commerce
Founders: Unknown
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59New Song Lyrics
The idea behind this startup: Get lyrics for new songs, Naat, qawwali, Nohay, Nasheed
Headquarters: Unknown
Industries: Audio, Music
Founders: Unknown
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60Freelance Videographer London
The idea behind this startup: Freelance Videographer London is a boutique production company.
Headquarters: London, England, United Kingdom
Industries: Audio, Video
Founders: Unknown
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61. AudioAI
The idea behind this startup: AudioAI is exploring audio and artificial intelligence for usage in various established and developing industries.
Headquarters: Unknown
Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Audio, Hardware, Machine Learning, Software
Founders: Anupam Agrawal
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62. Sabunk
The idea behind this startup: Sabunk is an online shop that provides wireless earplugs.
Headquarters: Dronten, Flevoland, The Netherlands
Industries: Audio, E-Commerce, Electronics, Retail, Wireless
Founders: Unknown
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63. Wanas
The idea behind this startup: Wanas is an online platform to listen Arabic curated original audio drama, news, podcast and articles.
Headquarters: Gîza, Al Jizah, Egypt
Industries: Audio, Internet, Podcast
Founders: Unknown
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64. Plylst
The idea behind this startup: Plylst is a software that helps to create music playlists through the Spotify library.
Headquarters: Unknown
Industries: Audio, Music, Open Source, Software
Founders: Unknown
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65. Sonnet Digital Audio
The idea behind this startup: Sonnet Digital Audio is a manufacturer of (digital) audio products for OEM, studio and consumer use.
Headquarters: s-hertogenbosch, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands
Industries: Audio, Electronics, Manufacturing
Founders: Unknown
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66. Feedal
The idea behind this startup: Feedal provides voice communication tool for active teams.
Headquarters: Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
Industries: Audio, Content, Media and Entertainment
Founders: Unknown
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67. Barvo
The idea behind this startup: Barvo specializes in the sales and maintenance of computers, TV, and audio equipment.
Headquarters: Helmond, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands
Industries: Audio, Computer, Sales, Service Industry, TV
Founders: Unknown
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