EDGE Sound Research

Market position

The company positions its "experiential audio" as a new audio format intended to complement conventional loudspeaker-based sound. It has been recognized through selection into NBA Launchpad and the Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars, a strategic equity investment from NBA Equity, and was cited by the City of Riverside as a leading example of its local startup community.

Rather than projecting sound from conventional speakers, the system makes the listener's immediate surroundings the emitter, producing a sensation investors have described as feeling sound radiate from oneself. The multimodal approach — combining audible and tactile frequency ranges — originates from the co-founder's own reliance on touch to perceive sound and is aimed at both immersive entertainment and improved communication for hard-of-hearing users.

Technology

The technology uses tactile transducers that translate audio signals into vibration, turning materials into loudspeakers. The ResonX Core transducer is attached to a surface such as a seat back and wired to a venue sound system, with proprietary software configuring the vibration to match the material's properties to produce what the company describes as flat, master-grade audio. The system is intended to deliver hearing across 0–20,000 Hz and tactile sensation across 0–2,000 Hz. The company has also built a courtside audio-capture system for sourcing and managing live event audio. The units are designed around a consistent form factor with interchangeable attachment mechanisms for walls, seats and other surfaces. The technology was patent-pending as of 2022.

Go-to-market

EDGE Sound Research has pursued partnerships and pilot installations with professional sports organizations — the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings — and participated in accelerator programs (Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars, NBA Launchpad) and pitch competitions (Rally IN-Prize) to reach league and team buyers. It has demonstrated the technology at CES and NAMM, and has stated a preference for building alongside partners in real venues rather than in a lab. Distribution into sports venues and themed attractions is being scaled via audio equipment distributor Sweetwater Integrations. The Pacers have publicly discussed evaluating whether the technology becomes an incremental revenue opportunity, a standard suite benefit, or an element of future venue buildouts.

Professional sports teams and venue operators (particularly premium/suite seating), broadcasters, themed attractions and theme parks, music venues and movie theaters; earlier consumer-facing efforts targeted producers, audio engineers, streamers and gamers, and the underlying technology is also positioned for Deaf/hard-of-hearing users and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Geography

Founded and originally based in Riverside, California, with an address listed at 5950 Wilderness Ave, Riverside, CA 92504. As of 2024 the company was reported to be based in Indianapolis, Indiana, with an "unofficial headquarters" on the Indiana Pacers' campus at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

History

The founders presented their audio concept at CES in Las Vegas in 2020 and secured mentoring and proof-of-concept support from UC Riverside's Office of Technology Partnerships and EPIC Small Business Development Center. The company returned to CES in 2022 with the patent-pending ResonX device and, that year, distributed its first consumer sound system to 50 alpha users, including Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated producers and audio engineers as well as streamers and gamers. It participated in the Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars to explore B2B applications in stadiums, music venues and movie theaters, and later completed the NBA Launchpad program, during which it tested five seats at the Sacramento Kings' Golden 1 Center. Winning the Rally IN-Prize pitch competition in Indianapolis led to its first NBA team deal, with the Indiana Pacers, and relocation of its base to Indianapolis. By March 2024 it worked with the Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers and had raised a $1.9M seed round; by July 2025 it had added a $2.75M seed extension, reached 11 full-time employees and begun contract manufacturing.

Risks & controversies

Early challenges included difficulty routing a humanities-based graduate startup through university administration, which the co-founder said cost the team a $25,000 grant. Technical hurdles identified for live sports deployments include ensuring zero latency, retrofitting already-built venues and filtering out extraneous noise. Team partners have publicly stated they are still assessing whether the technology represents an incremental revenue opportunity or a standard amenity.