Comhear

Comhear is an audio technology company creating the next generation of audio products for home and business.

The company's mission is to disrupt traditional speakers and headphones with true 3D Audio.

Existing investors include Peter Lynch (Fidelity Investments), and Brad Buss (Tesla board member and former CFO of SolarCity).

The company was the Winner of the 2017 CES Innovation Award for High Performance Home Audio/Video,

The company, which has 18 Granted & Pending Patents in its IP portfolio, has a development relationship with the University of California San Diego.

Customers include California's Great America theme park in Santa Clara, CA. In partnership with Electronic Arts, Bioware and Cedar Fair, Comhears technology was integrated into the new Mass Effect attraction.

One of its current initiatives is to redefine the sound bar for entertainment, gaming and VR with true 3D audio. Comhear technology is capable of reproducing immersive sounds in 3D because it targets discrete beams of sound into user’s left and right ears and syncs sound with the images on the screen. Users will experience 3D sounds exactly as they would in the real world.

Its first commercial product is the YARRA 3DX. This is an advanced entertainment Sound Bar with an array of 12 audio drivers and a proprietary algorithm to deliver immersive 3D Sound. This innovation is driven by "MyBeam™" beamforming and sound field modeling that allow users to hear 3D audio without the need for surround sound systems or headphones. A single YARRA 3DX sound projector replaces an entire room full of discrete speakers.

YARRA 3DX brings cutting edge, patented digital processing to an array of phase aligned, precision engineered drivers to produce a uniquely natural way to hear sound. The product is aimed at all users, whether they are "an audiophile, family Netflix viewer or hard core gamer."

Team Background

Perry Teevens - CEO

Perry Teevens joined Comhear as CEO in July 2015. Prior to being appointed CEO, Perry was a Comhear investor and board member.

Recently, he was AVP of Global Partnerships for Symphony Teleca Corporation (a HARMAN International Company). Prior to Symphony Teleca, Perry was the Head of Business Development at Skype where he was responsible for strategic planning and global business development for the Skype‐for‐Business and Enterprise Business Unit.

Perry has held senior leadership positions at leading software and networking companies including Microsoft, Intel, MCI, Radvision, and Aricent.

He received his bachelor’s of science degree in business administration from the California State University.

Peter Otto - CSO

Peter Otto joined Comhear as CSO in July of 2016 after a long term collaboration with the Company in his role as Director of Sonic Arts at the Qualcomm Institute at UCSD.

Peter is responsible for leading development efforts that leverage the company’s audio IP portfolio across a range of application areas.  He functions as Comhear’s primary liaison with academic and research labs, and is active in development and refinement of spatial audio (3D audio) techniques and content, while maintaining focus on audio quality and user experience.

Peter is an expert in the language and aesthetics of musical and media expression, and is also accomplished in advanced hardware/software design, including instrumentation and facilities, systems and networking applications, and a wide array of media technology research and development.

Classically trained in musical performance and composition, he completed his graduate work at California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles in 1984, and has served as music technology director at Tempo Reale in Florence, then at SUNY Buffalo, and prior to joining Comhear, served on the faculty for 20 years at UCSD Music and in a variety of roles in music technology and research directorships at UCSD.

Jim Lucas - CFO

Jim Lucas is the CFO of Comhear, where he oversees finance, administration, and human resources.

Jim brings over 20 years of financial leadership and accounting experience to Comhear, with a proven record in contributing to the financial growth and leadership of companies in a wide range of industries and stages of development.

Before joining Comhear, Jim was Chief Financial Officer at PrimaPharma, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, where he provided executive leadership in finance and administration for all corporate functions.

Previously, Jim served in a number of senior management roles with companies undergoing significant change either through high growth or restructuring. Jim spent the first ten years of his career working with two private equity firms focused on middle‐market leveraged buyouts.

Jim received his MBA from The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and his Bachelor of Science degree in finance and economics summa cum laude from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst, and a member of CFA Institute and the CFA Society of San Diego.

Co-Investors

Peter Lynch

Investor and mutual fund manager. As the manager of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between 1977 and 1990, Lynch averaged a 29.2% annual return, consistently more than doubling the S&P 500 and making it the best performing mutual fund in the world.