Audio seems to be gaining popularity in the tech space, and with the invention of wireless devices, audio technology has grown significantly in recent years. It explains why Google has been acquiring several audio startups since 2018.
The Tech giant did well to have predicted the future, and for the year 2022, it appears like Google has a lot of plans for audio.
According to a report published by Protocol, the company has “undertaken four separate transactions over the past 15 months, spending tens of millions of dollars to acquire IP, tech and talent in the field of audio hardware.”
It appears Google’s decisions to buy up these startups could help the company improve the quality of its wireless earbuds while also preparing it to defend itself against potential patent lawsuits.
The company has a long history in the audio tech industry. Several models of wireless earbuds have been produced by it, and the Nest Audio smart speaker is marketed as “all about sound.”
Currently, it doesn’t have as many options as Apple or Bose, but the purchases could put it in a better position to produce more feature-rich earbuds or on-ear headphones.
Protocol’s report says that Google recruited some of Synaptics employees, especially Vice President and General Manager of Audio, Trausti Thormundsson, who was CTO of Conexant, an audio hardware company that was bought by Synaptics in 2017.
The report further explains that Thormundsson’s colleagues mentioned on LinkedIn that his team is working on silicon, audio, power, and wearables.
It, therefore, suggests that the Tech giant could be developing custom silicon for its own audio devices. This makes sense because Apple’s headphones are powered by a proprietary processor.
As for Google, it has a history of inventing its own processors for various purposes, including security and photo processing. For the Pixel 6, it even designed and built its own system on a chip.
Protocol observes that certain deals appear to be more about patents than tech or skill. It started after Sonos sued Google twice for patent infringement on smart speaker technology. Given that a judge recently ruled that Google had infringed on Sonos’ patents, it’s hard to conceive that Google wants to keep making existing or future goods worse due to patent conflicts. Having its own audio patents could aid in the future.
