Headphones startup nura raises $21 million in oversubscribed Series A to develop new products and expand globally

Melbourne-based headphones startup nura has closed a $21 million Series A funding round led by existing investor Blackbird Ventures to develop new products and accelerate the global rollout of its flagship “Nuraphone” personalised headphones.

Founded in 2015 by Luke Campbell, Dragan Petrovic and Kyle Slater (who has since left the startup), nura tailors its “Nuraphone” headphones to each listener’s unique hearing profile, adapting the sound to suit their ears.

It’s an offering that’s proven enticing to investors: this Series A round was backed by a range of startup scene heavyweights including Blackbird Ventures, AirTree Ventures, SOS Ventures and Qualgro Investment.

The round was heavily oversubscribed, with the startup raising $6 million more than planned thanks to strong interest from investors.

But the company is no stranger to exceeding funding expectations. In mid-2016, nura raised the highest amount to date for an Australian Kickstarter project, with $US1.8 million ($2.5 million) raised from almost 8,000 backers. The startup had initially aimed to raise $200,000.

This Series A round is the second raise the startup has completed in just 18 months, after receiving a cash injection of $6 million from Blackbird Ventures in 2017. Read more

Angela Castles - Startup Smart - 8 Nov 2018