Wow! Kleer Gets $28M Of Funding In Series B Round (And Deserves It)

Kleer's PR counsel just sent a blast out to say that the company has received $28 million of funding in a Series B round. On video (embedded below), I took a closer look at Kleer's technology during the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and this new injection of cash comes as no surprise given what Kleer's wireless technology can do.Back in January, I interviewed Kleer's director of product management Brent Allen (see video below) about his company's wireless technology. There, at CES in Las Vegas, Sennheiser introduced a pair of wireless headphones (the MX W1) that contain Kleer's technology for $600. At that price, you can imagine that these are no ordinary run-of-the-mill Bluetooth-based wireless headphones. Kleer's technology is designed to surpass the limitations of Bluetooth-based stereo audio in two ways.

First, according to Allen, it requires 1/5th to 1/10th the power that normal Bluetooth headphones require. So, fewer stops at the recharging station for both the headphones and the devices that are broadcasting to them. Second, whereas Bluetooth relies on compression (which translates in "lossy" audio), Kleer's technology is lossless.

According to the release, Kleer announced:

After taping the video at CES, I remember thinking how, if I had some investment funds laying around, I wouldn't mind investing in the company myself. I was that impressed, particularly given the number of gear manufacturers like Sennheiser and RCA that were lining up to incorporate the technology into their products. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of dough and I'm not a venture capitalist. But I do have the video! Here it is: