Augmented Hearing

Augmented Hearing, a Danish deep-tech startup established in 2020, is an analyst-rated firm to watch in the audio speech enhancement sector. The company was founded by Mette Carstensen (CEO), Martin Bergmann (CTO), and Christian Ravn (Commercial), who combined their extensive experience from the Danish audio industry, including hearing aid leader Demant, with research from the Technical University of Denmark. Carstensen's background in Biomedical Engineering, specializing in Auditory Signal Processing and Machine Learning, directly informs the product's scientific basis. Bergmann contributes over two decades of experience in digital audio and AI, while Ravn brings a track record as a serial entrepreneur focused on commercializing and scaling technology companies.

The company's core business revolves around its flagship software, Sharpi 1.0, an AI-powered voice-extraction technology designed to isolate human speech from extreme background noise. This on-premise software solution processes audio in real-time with minimal latency, ensuring 100% uptime and data privacy by operating without cloud connectivity. The technology is built on a deep neural network, modeled after the human brain's ability to focus on specific voices, and is trained on millions of audio samples to dynamically separate speech from noise. This approach significantly reduces the cognitive load and stress on users, leading to fewer misunderstandings and improved focus.

Augmented Hearing targets markets where clear communication is mission-critical. Its primary clients are emergency services (112 call centers), air traffic control towers, and military communications. The company has already deployed its Sharpi 1.0 solution in emergency centers across several European countries, including Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland, handling over a million emergency calls annually. Following a successful €3 million seed funding round in May 2025, led by Nordic VC firm Crowberry Capital, the firm is focused on global expansion with the goal of reaching 200 call centers. While the current business model appears to be B2B software licensing, Augmented Hearing has stated long-term ambitions to expand into consumer applications like earbuds and hearing aids.

Keywords: speech enhancement, noise reduction, critical communication, voice isolation, real-time audio processing, AI audio, neural networks, emergency services technology, air traffic control communication, public safety technology, deep-tech, psychoacoustics, speech intelligibility, on-premise software, audio technology, Mette Carstensen, Martin Bergmann, Christian Ravn, Sharpi, Crowberry Capital