The industrial and infrastructure sectors face a significant blind spot: non-speech sounds. A critical example is manufacturing, where compressed air leaks waste over 1% of global electricity consumption, a costly inefficiency for both the environment and economy. Munich-based startup Omnisent is leading the way with scalable acoustic AI solutions.
The company has created a platform that converts complex audio signals into real-time, actionable insights. By combining proprietary ultra-low-power sonic sensors with advanced AI, industries can detect inefficiencies and hidden risks that were previously invisible. This innovative approach has attracted investors: Omnisent recently secured an oversubscribed $3 million pre-seed funding round led by Atlantic Labs, with participation from several serial entrepreneurs. The funds will support R&D, team expansion, and preparations for a commercial launch in Q4 2025.
In an exclusive interview with TFN, Robin Daiber, Co-Founder and CEO, explains: “We are not disclosing our valuation at this stage, but the strong investor interest reflects our conviction that acoustic AI is the next major sensing paradigm—and that our technical foundation is uniquely positioned to lead it.”
He adds: “Omnisent is extracting the acoustic layer of the physical world to unlock a new dimension of intelligence. By pairing ultra-low-power sonic devices with a large acoustic model (LAM) trained on non-speech audio, we turn sound into real-time intelligence. We’re starting with the manufacturing industry, applying our tech to compressed air systems — tackling 1% of global electricity loss from air leaks, worth tens to hundreds of billions of dollars annually. From there, we’re expanding into energy, defence, space, and smart cities — sectors where sound is the next frontier. I’m incredibly grateful to be on this journey alongside my amazing co-founders, Ann-Kristin and Adrien.”
Founders’ background, mission and vision
Omnisent was established in late 2024 by Robin Daiber (CEO), Ann-Kristin Balve (Co-CTO), and Adrien Jathe (Co-CTO). They met during their final year at Cambridge University and bonded over a mutual obsession: advancing AI beyond language into the physical, sonic realm.
Robin Daiber, a Cambridge alumnus, holds a Master’s in Engineering and a Bachelor’s in Physics, with extensive experience in solid-state physics and advanced materials, including work at the Institute for Manufacturing with major companies. Ann-Kristin Balve, a DeepMind Scholar, earned a Master’s in Machine Learning from Cambridge and a Bachelor’s in AI and Cognitive Science, with published research in explainable AI. Adrien Jathe, a serial entrepreneur, has a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London and ETH Zurich. He is recognised for patented innovations and international awards, such as the Grand Award at Intel ISEF.
Their mission is to unlock a new dimension of intelligence by harnessing the physical world’s acoustic layer. They aim to develop technology that detects sounds imperceptible to humans, initially in manufacturing and later in energy, defence, space, and smart city applications. The idea for Omnisent stemmed from frustration with how little sound is used as a source of information.
Daiber notes: “While much of AI is focused on vision or text, we saw an untapped opportunity in non-speech audio, from machinery noise to environmental acoustics. A turning point came while studying compressed air systems in industrial settings, where we discovered a major inefficiency hiding in plain hearing: global air leaks silently waste over 1% of all electricity, worth billions annually. This insight became our starting point.”
Omnisent is led by a multinational, interdisciplinary, gender-diverse team with backgrounds in engineering, physics, and machine learning. “Diversity of thought, identity, and perspective is a foundational value. We aim to build a team that reflects the global relevance of our mission and actively ensure inclusivity from day one,” says Daiber.
The technology behind Omnisent: Listening where others can’t
Omnisent’s technology fuses proprietary, ultra-low-power acoustic hardware with a novel Large Acoustic Model (LAM) trained on non-speech audio. Unlike other audio AI models focusing on voice recognition or music, Omnisent’s system is purpose-built for industrial and environmental sounds. Their devices process acoustic signals in real time, making the system energy-efficient, scalable, and deployable in every environment. Daiber explains: “This hardware-software fusion gives us a deep tech moat few others possess.”
While companies like Augury and Senseye address industrial monitoring and predictive maintenance, none focus specifically on acoustic AI at scale for nonverbal sound. “Our direct competition is not a company — it’s the status quo, where most sound data remains uncollected and unused. In that sense, we’re not just competing—we’re creating a new category,” Daiber emphasises.
What’s next for Omnisent?
With its new funding, Omnisent will expand its team, deepen R&D, and launch its first commercial product targeting industrial use cases by Q4 2025. Over the next three to five years, the company aims to scale across sectors including energy, defence, space, and smart cities, building the foundational infrastructure for ambient, real-time sound intelligence.
Daiber shares: “In the next 12 months, we’ll expand our team, deepen R&D, and launch our first commercial product targeting industrial use cases. Over the next 3–5 years, we aim to scale across industries like energy, defence, space, and smart cities, building the foundational infrastructure for ambient, real-time sound intelligence. Long term, we aim to establish Omnisent as the world’s leading platform for non-verbal audio understanding.”
He adds: “We believe that sound is the next big sensing layer — not just in industry, but in everyday life. With Omnisent, we’re laying the foundation for a world where machines understand sound like humans do — and even beyond that. This funding round is just the beginning. We’re hiring, we’re building, and we’re listening — quite literally.”
Since its official launch, Omnisent has received a scientific collaboration scholarship from the German Fraunhofer Institute, a founder scholarship from the Federal Republic of Germany, the Founder Award from the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and recognition as one of the top 10 AI startups in the Cambridge and Oxford ecosystem.
