- Real-time audio platform company Mixhalo recently announced that it raised $10.7 million in Series A funding along with an expansion of its pilot programs
Mixhalo is a real-time audio platform company that delivers a high-quality immersive experience for venues and event organizers. Recently, Mixhalo announced it raised $10.7 million in Series A financing led by Foundry Group.
The Mixhalo platform was conceptualized by musicians wanting to give every fan in a venue the same stellar sound they hear through in-ear monitors. And Mixhalo has expanded the platform to serve concerts, conferences, festivals, sporting events, etc. Essentially, Mixhalo is able to provide event organizers with the opportunity to provide everyone with front row sound anywhere that people gather with amplified audio.
This round of funding also included a syndicate of institutional investors including Sapphire Sport, Founders Fund, Defy Partners, and Cowboy Ventures along with entertainment visionaries such as Red Light Management, Another Planet Entertainment, Rick Farman and Richard Goodstone of Superfly, and Charlie Walker of C3. The Series A participants also joins seed investors and advisors Marc Geiger, Drew Houston, Metallica, Pharrell Williams, Hans Zimmer, and Rick Rubin.
In conjunction with the funding round, Ryan McIntyre will be joining the Mixhalo Board of Directors along with Mixhalo CEO Marc Ruxin and founder and Chief Creative Officer Michael Einziger — who is also known as a popular music producer and a co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Incubus.
Marc Ruxin became CEO of Mixhalo in February 2019. Ruxin also serves on the board of companies like Madefire, Omnify.ai, Zeguro, Mighty Networks, Peck, Gametime United, PAX Labs, Grammy’s / RIAA, and SoftTech VC.
“Mixhalo envisions a world where everyone experiences great live audio, regardless of their seat or ticket cost. We are democratizing sound at live events,” said Ruxin in a statement. “Think of it like HD for your ears. HDTV introduced an improved viewing experience that people didn’t even know they were missing. Mixhalo is doing the same for audio at live events; we are creating a new paradigm for the audio experience at venues, events and cultural moments.”
How exactly does Mixhalo work? Mixhalo’s technology provides a real-time audio experience delivered directly to the phones and headphones of attendees. Without relying on the venue’s overwhelmed Wi-Fi or cell network, Mixhalo actually creates its own wireless channel at the event across which high-fidelity sound can travel directly from sound mixer or PA system at the event to an attendee’s ear. As a result of this technology, every seat (including nosebleeds) has access to better, more immersive audio, transforming the live event experience. The applications for this platform is extensive as it can be applied at concerts, festivals, conferences, trade shows, e-sports and sporting events, museums, megachurches, and interpretation services.
“As a lifelong musician myself, I know first-hand the incredible immersive sound experience that professional musicians enjoy on stage in their headphones with wireless audio coming straight from the mixing board. But knowing the challenge of building a technology platform that could deliver this experience to every fan in venues of all sizes, I was skeptical it could be done. However, once I experienced Mixhalo at the tiny Fox Theater in Boulder and then at the Aerosmith show in Las Vegas, I was convinced of the technology and the massive potential and use cases in live music, sporting events, and beyond,” added McIntyre. “With a tremendous potential to impact the future experience of live events, we’re excited to invest in Mixhalo to support their mission of democratizing sound at live events globally.”
Mixhalo provides the elevated audio at a low cost and it eliminates the need for expensive annual speaker capital expenses to enhance the attendee experience. Plus venue operators and event producers can now maintain an invaluable connection to guests for the duration of an event through audio allowing organizers to monetize the Mixhalo platform as they see fit.
“We believe Mixhalo has an innovative and scalable technology solution that is broadly applicable across a range of sports and entertainment events,” explained Michael Spirito — a Managing Director at Sapphire Ventures. “Starting with the use case of audio, but with relevance to almost any data input, we’re excited about the unique consumer experiences Mixhalo can deliver, as well as the revenue enhancement opportunities this can create for teams and venue owners.”
Using the phone they already have on-hand along with headphones and a free mobile app, event attendees can create an intimate, personalized audio experience that puts them in control of what they hear. This could include a play-by-play of a sporting event, selecting a special curated mix at a concert, controlling the volume, or accessing a preferred language at a conference.
Mixhalo has been testing pilots of the technology for more than 12 months at conferences such as TechCrunch Disrupt and Y-Combinator’s Demo Day. And it has connected fans to the soundboard at shows by Charlie Puth, Incubus, and Metallica.
And currently, Aerosmith’s Las Vegas residency features a one-of-a-kind onstage VIP experience that taps Mixhalo to deliver pristine THX-certified audio to fans seated on stage. Plus it offers two extra audio mixes: a house mix and a custom Steven Tyler mix that delivers exactly what the singer hears in his in-ear monitors. This allows Aerosmith fans to experience the band like never before.
“Mixhalo is transforming the stage from an untapped resource into the most intimate, premium concert experience on the planet,” explained Aerosmith producer and Roadwerx CEO Steve Dixon. “The opportunity is immense. Once fans go onstage with Mixhalo, they won’t go back. This is what’s next in live music.”
Mixhalo’s venue testing programs have been expanded to pilot events at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, the Park Theater at Park MGM, and Shoreline Amphitheatre. And the technology has been incorporated at Pharrell William’s “Something in the Water” music festival and Beats by Dre Listening Parties. Plus a variety of Bay Area venues will debut Mixhalo-powered events later this year.
“I had the pleasure of working with Mixhalo at TechCrunch Disrupt and Y-Combinator Demo Day, where it created a flawless experience for our attendees,” noted David Weil — an event producer at FiveEleven Productions. “From an event production standpoint, Mixhalo should be considered if you’re looking to offer guests the best audio and interpretation experience.”
Ann Marie Simpson – Einziger — an internationally-acclaimed violinist co-founded Mixhalo with Mike Einziger. Ann had co-invented the technology and launched the brand with the vision of providing everyone access to soundboard-quality audio at their concerts. Mixhalo was founded in 2017 and it raised a total of $15 million to date.
