Audio Pixels edges closer to futuristic speaker 12 years in the making

Audio Pixels has hit its latest deadline after it received the first batch of re-jigged wafers for a state-of-the-art speaker that has been 12 years in the making.

Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) has for years been developing a chip for a new kind of digital speaker that can deliver boom-box sound in a mobile phone.

The journey has been a hair-raising rollercoaster ride for shareholders as the company encountered delays in creating its core technology — a silicon “wafer” which uses MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) technology.

In 2016 the stock quadrupled to around $33 and hit a market cap of almost $900 million. Last year it fell by two-thirds to around $11 and a $300 million market cap — before again climbing to about $25 and a $700 million market cap.

Today it sits at about $16 for a cap of $430 million.

Audio Pixels had hoped to take delivery of the wafers last May, which blew out to August and then to March amid manufacturing delays. The chip finally arrived on March 29, chairman Fred Bart told investors on Tuesday.

“Our vendor’s ability to meet its previously advised delivery schedule… builds further confidence in the the newly improved fabrication process, Mr Bart said. Performance testing had now started in Israel.

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A multi-million dollar startup

Audio Pixels is promising a technology that will produce directional sound — meaning you could listen to high-quality audio on a phone without headphones — and without disturbing people nearby.

Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) made a $4.3 million loss last year, but still had cash of $2.7 million thanks to the issue of new convertible notes, according to its 2017 annual year report issued in March.