Austrian startup USound - possible AKP competitor?, page-3

Good alert Rcowell, and many thanks for posting.

This is clearly both a competitor and a threat, but it is not yet ready to deliver a general purpose speaker comparable to the AP MEMS.  Their technology is also not based on the same kind of sound production process as AP.  It is still an array of micro speakers, and while this works it probably does not have the same capabilities as AP's DSR technology.  It may well prove to work well for in ear devices etc, but probably not for room-filling audio systems.  Competition had to happen of course.  But in many ways it is an encouraging sign that AKP is right on the leading edge of development of this disruptive technology.

Below is a reference to a sample report from YOLE on the MEMS industry in 2016.  Even though AP is not listed as a MEMS manufacturer - yet - slide p10 shows an overview of current MEMS development, and AP is still out on its own in the speakers category.

http://www.i-micronews.com/images/SAMPLES/MEMS/Yole_Status_of_the_MEMS_Industry_May_2016_Sample.pdf

We are in good company, and it certainly looks like the MEMS industry is likely to be comparably as disruptive and innovative as the IC revolution was to the 1970s and later.