French startup Devialet has raised a brand new $50 million (€50 million) funding spherical from two current traders — Crédit Mutuel Equity and Bpifrance’s Large Venture fund — and a brand new mysterious Asian investor. Devialet doesn’t need to share the identify of this new investor. All I do know is that it’s an industrial firm primarily based in China.

This funding spherical is related as startup funding has slowed down in current months in France — like in different European markets. The funding spherical is a standard funding spherical in change for fairness within the firm — there’s no debt part. Devialet doesn’t share the corporate’s valuation — but it surely’s greater than its earlier valuation.

If you’re not acquainted with Devialet, the startup designs high-end audio system of all dimensions and shapes. The firm’s flagship product is the Phantom I speaker. With this egg-shaped speaker, Devialet’s engineering workforce guarantees no background noise, no saturation and no distorsion due to its proprietary sound amplification know-how.

The result’s a particularly succesful speaker that begins at $2,300. When you flip it on, it looks like a a lot bigger speaker — it may be very loud. This speaker can also be versatile because it helps AirPlay, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect and UPnP.

Over time, Devialet has expanded to different merchandise and markets. In 2019, the corporate launched a smaller speaker, the Phantom Reactor, which is now known as the Phantom II.

When it involves new product classes, the corporate additionally launched a pair of earbuds and a soundbar in your TV. With the Devialet Dione soundbar particularly, the corporate has formidable targets. There are doubtless extra individuals who need to purchase a house cinema setup than audiophiles searching for audio system that value hundreds of {dollars}.

In addition to Devialet’s personal merchandise, the startup additionally has a licensing division for its audio know-how and patents. Over the previous few years, it has partnered with Sky, Iliad, Altice USA and Huawei to launch gadgets with Devialet-branded audio system.

With right this moment’s funding spherical, the corporate plans to double down on worldwide markets and its licensing technique. For occasion, over the previous three years, Devialet has opened six shops in China, 5 in South Korea and several other shops in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia. Three of the startup’s prime 5 markets are actually in Asia. While Devialet is a comparatively area of interest model, the corporate is reporting double-digit progress.

“Our continued partnership with both Crédit Mutuel Equity and Bpifrance shows a clear confidence in our business strategy and in the truly unique technologies that have been developed by our engineers,” Devialet CEO mentioned in an announcement. “Meanwhile, the participation of our new partners in the Asian market will be a considerable asset as we continue to build out our licensing strategy, and will provide ample opportunities to further build Devialet’s presence in Asia.”