Krisp Raises $9M to Expand Noise Cancellation Technology

Krisp Secures $9M Extension to Fuel Growth in Noise Cancellation Technology

Krisp, a company specializing in real-time audio noise suppression powered by machine learning, has successfully raised $9 million as an extension to its previously announced $5 million Series A funding round from last summer.

This additional capital injection follows substantial growth experienced by the Armenian-based startup throughout 2020, with both its customer base and revenue increasing by over tenfold.

Early Beginnings and Core Technology

TechCrunch initially reported on Krisp during its emergence from UC Berkeley’s Skydeck accelerator program. Co-founder Davit Baghdasaryan had recently transitioned from a role at Twilio.

The company’s fundamental offering remains the isolation of human speech from all surrounding noise, ensuring that only the speaker’s voice is transmitted in audio communications.

Pandemic-Driven Acceleration

Unsurprisingly, the shift towards remote work and virtual meetings, significantly accelerated by the pandemic, has proven highly beneficial for Krisp.

Baghdasaryan revealed that 2020 witnessed a 20x surge in active users, a 23x increase in enterprise clients, and a 13x improvement in annual recurring revenue.

Expanding Market Reach and Enterprise Solutions

The increased prevalence of virtual meetings, often conducted in noisy environments like homes, has driven adoption across diverse sectors.

Currently, Krisp serves over 1,200 enterprise customers, including banks, HR platforms, legal firms, and call centers – essentially, any organization prioritizing clear audio communication.

To cater to enterprise needs, the company has incorporated features such as provisioning and centralized administration for seamless integration.

B2B Momentum and Product Evolution

Recently, revenue from business-to-business (B2B) clients has surpassed that from direct consumers.

The inclusion of Krisp as an option within the popular chat application Discord, particularly within the gaming community, initially boosted consumer awareness, though converting free users to paid subscriptions presents ongoing challenges.

However, Krisp has consistently enhanced its product and underlying infrastructure beyond its core noise cancellation functionality.

New Features and Potential Revenue Streams

The software now supports noise cancellation for high-fidelity voice channels, making it valuable for podcasters and streamers.

Acoustic correction, which minimizes room echo, further simplifies setup for content creators, representing a potentially significant revenue opportunity given the growing number of individuals engaged in this field.

Future Development and Data Analysis

Krisp intends to introduce cross-service call recording and analysis capabilities.

By operating between the system’s audio drivers and applications, Krisp can capture audio and associated metadata, providing insights into speaker talk time and noise levels in different office locations.

Furthermore, the addition of voice cancellation – eliminating the voices of other individuals – could be particularly advantageous for those working in busy offices or call centers.

Infrastructure and Talent Acquisition

A key aspect of Krisp’s strategy is its ability to operate locally and securely on various platforms with minimal resource consumption.

To maintain its competitive edge, the company is continuously optimizing its algorithms for both Intel and ARM architectures.

Krisp has also invested in building its own data center equipped with Nvidia’s A100 processors for faster model training, rather than relying on cloud providers.

Investing in Armenian Expertise

Baghdasaryan emphasized the strength of the team in Armenia, where he and co-founder Arto Minasyan are based, and where the company is concentrating its hiring efforts.

The 25-member research team is expected to grow to 45 by the end of 2021, leveraging the country’s strong talent pool in mathematics, physics, and engineering.

Funding and Future Plans

Combining both parts of the Series A round, Krisp has secured a total of $14 million in funding.

While substantial, this amount may seem modest considering the company’s rapid growth and large enterprise customer base.

Baghdasaryan explained that they were not yet prepared for a full Series B round and plan to initiate a new fundraising effort later this year, targeting $15 million in annual recurring revenue.

Long-Term Vision and Market Potential

Despite acquisition offers, Baghdasaryan affirmed his commitment to building Krisp into a long-term, multibillion-dollar company.

The surge in virtual work has undoubtedly propelled Krisp’s growth, but the company and the conditions that fostered its success are expected to endure.