SoDo design company Human Inc. announced a $21 million Series B this morning. CMO Mark Kroese said the company will use the cash to complete and launch its first product — smart over-ear wireless headphones — and grow its team.
Sage Venture Partners, Sugar Mountain Capital and Ropart Asset Management II led the round, with participation from existing investors Mountain Nazca and Darling Ventures.
Human Chief Marketing Officer Mark Kroese said a certain software company from Redmond also took the opportunity to make a strategic investment.
“We’re really pleased with the vote of confidence from Microsoft,” he said in an interview with Built In Seattle.
Founded by Joe Dieter and Ben Willis (pictured above) in 2015, Human’s headphones look to combine the portability of wireless earbuds with the sound quality of over-ear headphones. The headphones will be voice-activated to allow users to leave phones in their pocket — part of the company’s goal to make technology that serves humans instead of acting as a distraction. The company says the headphones will have a 12-hour battery and be comfortable enough to wear all day — for music and podcasts during commutes, and phone calls and meetings during the day.
“We don’t like to think of this as just another headphone,” Kroese said. “It’s really at the confluence of large market trends: one is voice computing, another is smart wearables and then there’s the vast increase in general headphone usage — especially with wireless headphones.”
In addition to voice activation, users will also be able to control the headphones by touch or through a mobile app. While the company has not yet announced pricing or a final release date, a product completion checklist released to backers of a 2016 Indiegogo campaign suggests the project is nearing completion.
Kroese said the company will use the funding to finish the headphone project — which has been a couple of years in the making — and grow its team.
“We’re looking for smart, talented people who understand the audio and mobile app space,” he said.
