IRIS is an audio technology company with a mission to empower the world to ‘listen well’. Our range of patented products draws on decades of research into the effects of sound on the brain, putting focus, productivity and wellbeing at the forefront for all. From this we created IRIS Clarity, an AI-powered desktop app that removes distracting background noise from your video meetings and customer conversations.
Real-time and bi-directional, with IRIS Clarity, participants on either side of a conversation can instantly enjoy clearer sound wherever they are. It improves focus, engagement and well-being and brings control over otherwise uncontrollable environments.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
Music has always been a passion for me. Having been deeply involved in the music industry for over 15 years, both as a music producer and a DJ, I have seen how music is central to any culture. It helps us motivate, focus and relax, and I felt strongly that this deep, integrative relationship that music has with our mind, body and emotions hadn’t been fully explored. The idea for IRIS came to me in 2016 when I was building a music festival in California that effectively blended music and social change, with audio quality at its core. I realized that my different experiences in the music and audio space gave me a unique perspective to explore how audio quality influences aspects such as emotional response, information retention and engagement.
With the launch of IRIS, we took a closer look at these relationships to understand what was missing and how we could improve the listening experience to engage people more. Sound amplifies every emotion and shapes every experience. In the best cases, it elevates and moves us. At worst, it frustrates and harms us. Through our deep understanding of the science of sound, we help people find focus, engagement and well-being wherever they listen – and that’s pretty much everywhere.
How has the company developed in recent years?
IRIS products are supported by a revolutionary technology scientifically proven to improve our neurological response to audio. Our software solutions increase engagement and absorption by mimicking the effects of sound, as experienced in a live environment, in all digital content.
Our first product was the multi award-winning IRIS Flow Headphones. The headphones featured IRIS’ proprietary technology to recreate the spatial sound wave information typically lost in modern file compression, dramatically improving the audio listening experience.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic struck almost immediately as we got underway, disrupting lives and businesses everywhere, including our own. As everyone adjusted to the new normal – working from home, spending hours on Zoom, Teams and Meet conversations, and suffering the frustrating “can you hear me now” dance – we realized that our technology could solve this new problem of communication loss. could resolve, reduced productivity and declining well-being.
IRIS engineers, machine learning experts and product designers put the existing model to work, adapting and testing it with dog barking, heavy traffic, crying babies, loud construction, etc. The result is our latest product: IRIS Clarity. Designed as a super-simple desktop application, IRIS Clarity is a powerful AI speech isolation solution that puts people in control of uncontrollable environments, improving communication, productivity and engagement.
What can we hope to see from IRIS Clarity in the future?
At IRIS, we are pioneering the next stage in the evolution of human-digital audio experiences to empower people and businesses around the world to listen well. Starting with IRIS Clarity, we want to restore the uncontrollable environment and restore focus in all sectors, including small to large enterprises, call centers, aviation, emergency services and racing.
Supported by IRIS-funded research on neurological audio stimuli, we strive to create real-life connections between humans and sound, increasing engagement. Our long-term vision for the company is to use IRIS technology to enhance all interactions with audio, improving well-being for everyone.
