Dotterel Raises $3m For Sonic Breakthrough Tech: Konos Microphone

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, March 23 2022 - Dotterel Technologies is today announcing the company has raised $3m to boost production of its breakthrough sound capture technology which records clear audio signals from anywhere, while filtering out unwanted noise on the fly.

The funding round was led by Icehouse Ventures with support from RocketLab founder Peter Beck, Sir Stephen Tindall’s K1W1, US-backed NZVC, and other private investors including Sean Simpson, the founder of carbon capture company Lanzatech and Dotterel’s Chair.

Dotterel’s high-end Konos microphone is built with an array of 80 digital microphones, capturing the target audio signal with exceptional clarity from any direction and from long distances, while eliminating undesired sounds from noisy machinery, crowds or weather.

The new funds will be used to scale-up Konos’ production and to expand into new markets focussed on public safety and industrial manufacturing, where Konos can be mounted onto emergency vehicles and within factories to improve safety, workflow and communication.

Well known entertainment studios in the US and the UK have been using early versions of the 23-cm long Konos to improve audio recordings in noisy environments, with the 80-element microphone array providing sound engineers advanced creative options for editing and production.

Dotterel has recently shifted premises from a lab facility in Parnell to a new manufacturing warehouse in Penrose, where its team of 13 is anticipated to grow to 20 staff by end-year.

Co-founder and CEO Shaun Edlin says innovation in audio capture has not kept pace with significant advancements made in visual sensor technology, with Konos representing a major sonic engineering breakthrough.

“We are opening up a whole new world of capturing and communicating sound with the biggest breakthrough in decades ,” says Shaun. “Dotterel is transforming the way we listen and talk to machines and people. We can capture mission-critical audio clearly and from a safe distance, mounting Konos onto police cars, drones and other machinery, which can boost public safety and ultimately save lives.”

He says Konos can be used as an “Amazon Alexa” for industry, using voice automation to facilitate valuable two-way communication between the operator and the microphone’s location.

The diverse range of industry applications is what attracted high-calibre investors to the oversubscribed funding round. The company has identified market opportunities of US1 billion in entertainment and more than $US500 billion for industrial applications.

“It is exciting to see this breakthrough development pioneered in New Zealand and I am delighted to be an investor,” says Peter Beck. “Dotterel has developed a highly differentiated product, filling an unmet need for small, portable, high-fidelity microphones in the many industries constrained by sound recording challenges.”

Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul says, “The strength of the Dotterel team, born from New Zealand’s first ‘deep tech’ unicorn Lanzatech, combined with their vision to improve and save lives puts the company on track to be New Zealand’s next major exporter of ground-breaking technology.

Konos pre-production units are currently being sold and evaluated by select end users, with a larger general release slated for later this year.

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