A Perth hearing tech company once touted by Time Magazine has fallen into administration after failing to nail down a deal with a major foreign semiconductor company.
A Perth hearing tech company once touted by Time Magazine has fallen into administration after failing to nail down a deal with a major foreign semiconductor company.
Nuheara on Wednesday revealed to the ASX it had voluntarily appointed administrators Martin Jones, Matthew Woods, and Clint Joseph from KPMG.
That decision was made after the company failed to reach an agreement with Taiwan semiconductor company Realtek around a $2.5 million loan which was due to mature next month.
The Perth-headquartered firm was also yet to receive a commercial or royalty agreement from Realtek.
Nuheara and Realtek had signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue such a deal in 2022.
Nuheara’s brief statement to the ASX noted administrators would continue to work towards executing the agreement which it considered “important to the strategic review” process launched in April.
The company was based around what it described as “revolutionary” wireless earbud technology which amplified human conversations above background noise – a technology now commonplace in most modern phones.
The earbuds could also connect via Bluetooth to televisions and other accessories.
In 2020 Time Magazine named Nuheara’s third-generation device as one of the best inventions of the year.
But beneath the accolades the firm has struggled to make money.
ASX data shows Nuheara has been in the red for some time, having recorded losses of more than $10 million in three of the past four financial years, and revenues of under $4m in three of the past four financial years.
2020-21 was a small bright spot, when the company recorded a revenue of $10.74 million but still lost $7.89 million for the period.
In April Nuheara launched a strategic review and noted “early-stage” discussions with potential merger partners.
At that time the company reported a $1.85 million equity raise to complete the review.
The product was launched to the Israel market in June this year, and completed a US Walmart display alongside HP in March.
Sales in the third quarter of 2023-24 were described as “relatively” low at $279,000.
The earbuds retail for $499 online.
In a 2023 presentation Nuheara spruiked its growing US footprint, where its product was on display in more than 4,000 Walmarts, 600 Best Buys, and 100 Targets.
The company's share price has fallen from $1.96 in 2019 to 0.8 cents this month.
