High Fidelity
High Fidelity provides a real-time spatial audio API and the Quad social-gathering platform, enabling developers and organizations to deliver 3D, server-mixed voice communication for apps, virtual events, and online collaboration.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What High Fidelity does
High Fidelity is a privately held, San Francisco–based spatial audio software company founded in 2013. It builds real-time spatial audio infrastructure for web and native applications, using Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) processing, server-side audio mixing, and a proprietary subband audio codec that achieves 4:1 compression at roughly 4ms added latency. Audio is mixed server-side and delivered to each user as a personalized stereo stream over WebRTC, supporting around 40ms end-to-end latency in U.S. coast-to-coast deployments and groups of 50+ simultaneous participants per server.
The company monetizes through two surfaces. The Spatial Audio API is offered to developers on a usage-based, per-minute model currently in a free alpha with 10,000 complimentary minutes per developer account. Its flagship end-user product, Quad, is a virtual social-gathering platform positioned as "not meetings, a place to meet," with dedicated Enterprise, Education, and Affinity Groups offerings. Supporting the developer ecosystem are a JavaScript Client Library, open-source NodeJS sample apps (Spatial Speaker Space, Spatial Microphone), and a Minecraft Forge mod (HifiMC) that integrates spatial voice chat into gameplay.
High Fidelity's go-to-market is API-first and product-led, with no apparent reseller or channel intermediary layer. Named integration customers span social audio (Clubhouse), digital collaboration (Hubbub), virtual concerts (Soundstage), virtual events (Vatom), and consumer meetings (Skittish). The company has raised approximately $72.9M across five funding rounds between 2013 and 2018, with no disclosed rounds thereafter, and operates with a headcount of 11–50 employees. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the Spatial Audio API's paid usage-based tier is described as post-launch rather than active, suggesting the business is still in early commercialization despite a mature underlying technology stack.
High Fidelity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- High Fidelity
- Legal name
- High Fidelity, Inc.
- Website
- https://highfidelity.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- High Fidelity provides a real-time spatial audio API and the Quad social-gathering platform, enabling developers and organizations to deliver 3D, server-mixed voice communication for apps, virtual events, and online collaboration.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
High Fidelity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Spatial Audio Software
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Audio Middleware (Interactive/Game Audio) (MPAFAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Spatial Audio & Metaverse Voice Platforms (MPACAEAM), Audio Encoding & Processing (Surround, Atmos, Normalization) (MPAHAHAI)
Keywords
Where High Fidelity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
High Fidelity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel
Revenue model
- Spatial Audio API - Usage-based: Free during alpha testing period. Per-minute pricing model after launch, with free developer accounts and first 10,000 minutes complimentary. Revenue based on API usage minutes consumed by application developers integrating spatial audio.
- Quad Platform Subscriptions: Quad platform offered in versions for Enterprise, Education, and Affinity Groups with likely subscription or per-seat pricing for organizational deployments.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Developer Tier - 10,000 free minutes |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Usage-based per-minute pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
High Fidelity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
High Fidelity provides a Spatial Audio API and the Quad social gathering platform that enables real-time, immersive 3D spatial audio for applications, games, and virtual events. The API uses HRTF-based server-side audio mixing to deliver personalized stereo streams to each user, supporting simultaneous multi-speaker conversations with low latency. Customers integrate the technology with a few lines of code to power natural-sounding voice communication in social audio apps, virtual events, digital collaboration tools, and virtual concerts.
Product overview
High Fidelity provides spatial audio technology that enables people to hear voices and sounds from different directions, simulating natural in-person communication. The core product is the Spatial Audio API, which processes audio server-side and delivers personalized 3D audio streams. This API powers Quad, the company's social gathering platform for virtual events and large group interactions. Supporting the API are developer tools including a JavaScript Client Library, NodeJS sample applications (Spatial Speaker Space and Spatial Microphone) for recording spatial audio, and open-source integrations like the HifiMC Minecraft mod. The technology uses HRTF, noise suppression, nearfield audio effects, and parametric reverb to create immersive audio experiences for virtual events, social audio apps, and gaming.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Quad: A social platform built for social gatherings, large groups, side conversations, spontaneity, and growing connections within peer groups.
- Spatial Audio API
Products and services
- Spatial Audio API Cloud-based real-time spatial audio API that enables natural multi-speaker conversations in virtual environments. Uses HRTF and server-side audio mixing to deliver personalized 3D audio streams to each user via WebRTC for web and native applications, integrable with just a few lines of code.
- Quad Virtual social gathering platform built on High Fidelity's spatial audio technology. Recreates a room full of tables where participants can move around, form side conversations, and grow connections within peer groups. Offered in versions for Enterprise, Education, and Affinity Groups.
Quantifiable outcome
- Cognitive load reduction and improved speech intelligibility through spatial audio delivery
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use High Fidelity
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
High Fidelity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability2 records
Feature6 records
High Fidelity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ClubhousecoreClubhouse integrated High Fidelity's spatial audio technology with their own audio processing to make Clubhouse conversations feel more natural and immersive. Justin Uberti at Clubhouse specifically praised the technology.
- HubbubcoreHubbub partnered with High Fidelity to create digital meeting spaces that enable users to work together even when miles apart. Spatial audio enhances the overall audio experience with better quality, 3D sound, lower latency, and more simultaneous audio streams.
- SoundstagecoreSoundstage uses High Fidelity's spatial audio technology for interactive virtual concerts where artists and fans can chat intimately. CEO Ara Kevonian stated High Fidelity is far better than anything else on the market.
- Vatom (formerly SpatialWeb)coreVatom partnered with High Fidelity to create 3D virtual spaces for cross-team collaboration and networking. Hosted events including a virtual CES 2021 party featuring Ryan Seacrest, Dua Lipa, and Billie Eilish. CEO Eric Pulier praised High Fidelity's ability to specify user locations without sacrificing audio quality.
- SkittishcoreSkittish utilizes High Fidelity's Spatial Audio API to deliver improved audio quality and three-dimensional sound at low latency. The platform offers a playful virtual meeting space where participants can interact with spatial audio baked in.
- FableminorFable is an online testing platform that focuses on testing with people who use assistive technologies. High Fidelity works with Fable to ensure accessibility for developers using assistive technologies, incorporating feedback from people who are blind during product development.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
High Fidelity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Agora: Agora is the dominant real-time voice and video engagement API platform, offering SDKs for spatial audio, voice chat, and low-latency communication. It directly competes with High Fidelity's Spatial Audio API for the same developer and app builder customer base across social, gaming, and virtual event use cases.
- Dolby.io: Dolby.io is Dolby's developer-facing API platform offering spatial audio, music mastering, and media processing. It competes head-to-head with High Fidelity on spatial audio for developers and benefits from Dolby's brand, installed base, and broader portfolio of audio IP.
- Daily: Daily provides real-time video and audio APIs (Daily.co) targeted at developers building collaborative applications, telehealth, and virtual events. It overlaps with High Fidelity on the audio-side developer infrastructure value proposition and competes for similar PLG-driven developer adoption.
- mmhmm: mmhmm is a virtual presentation and meeting tool that emphasizes spatial/immersive audio and video effects. It competes with High Fidelity's Quad platform for virtual collaboration mindshare and represents an alternative spatial-audio-driven approach to solving meeting fatigue.
- Spatial (spatial.io): Spatial builds immersive 3D virtual spaces for collaboration, events, and metaverse experiences, using spatial audio as a core differentiator. It overlaps directly with High Fidelity's Quad platform on use cases (virtual events, social gatherings, collaboration) and on the underlying spatial audio technology positioning.
- 100ms: 100ms is a developer platform providing APIs and SDKs for building real-time audio/video applications including live audio rooms, video conferencing, and interactive streaming. It is a direct PLG-style competitor to High Fidelity, targeting the same developer-and-app-builder segment with similar use cases (social audio, live rooms, virtual events).
Broad incumbents
- Twilio (Programmable Voice): Twilio is a large communications platform-as-a-service provider offering programmable voice, video, and messaging APIs to enterprise and developer customers. While not spatial-audio-specialized, Twilio competes for the same developer budget and has been expanding into real-time voice/video experiences adjacent to High Fidelity's offering.
- Jitsi (8x8): Jitsi is an open-source WebRTC video conferencing platform now maintained by 8x8. It represents the broader real-time communications platform layer where High Fidelity's API competes for developer attention, with a focus on video-first meetings and customizable deployments.
Emerging players
- Resonance Audio (Google): Resonance Audio is Google's open-source spatial audio SDK for games and VR/AR. While open-source and less commercially packaged than High Fidelity's API, it competes in the same spatial-audio-for-developers category, particularly for studios building VR/AR experiences.
Others
- Phonox / Sonix (audio transcription comparison): Sonix is an AI-powered audio transcription and post-production platform. It sits in the broader audio infrastructure category that High Fidelity competes for developer mindshare in, though its focus is transcription/post-production rather than real-time spatial audio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
High Fidelity social profiles
Digital presenceHigh Fidelity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
High Fidelity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
High Fidelity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors13 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
High Fidelity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about High Fidelity
What does High Fidelity do?
High Fidelity provides a Spatial Audio API and the Quad social gathering platform that enables real-time, immersive 3D spatial audio for applications, games, and virtual events. The API uses HRTF-based server-side audio mixing to deliver personalized stereo streams to each user, supporting simultaneous multi-speaker conversations with low latency. Customers integrate the technology with a few lines of code to power natural-sounding voice communication in social audio apps, virtual events, digital collaboration tools, and virtual concerts.
Is High Fidelity a public or private company?
High Fidelity is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was High Fidelity founded?
High Fidelity was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is High Fidelity based?
High Fidelity is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does High Fidelity make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Spatial Audio API - Usage-based is the primary driver. The others are quad Platform Subscriptions.
Who are High Fidelity's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Agora, Dolby.io, Daily, mmhmm, Spatial (spatial.io) and 100ms. Broad incumbents are Twilio (Programmable Voice) and Jitsi (8x8). Resonance Audio (Google) is listed as an emerging player. Phonox / Sonix (audio transcription comparison) is listed as an others.
Does High Fidelity have an API?
Yes. High Fidelity's Spatial Audio API enables real-time voice communication for hundreds of users in virtual 3D environments. Developers can integrate spatial audio into web applications, games, and virtual events with just a few lines of code. The API processes audio server-side, mixing streams and delivering personalized 3D audio to each user via WebRTC. All audio is mixed on the server and sent to users through one personalized stream, with no additional bandwidth requirements for end users. Free developer accounts are available with guides and sample applications including Node.js examples. Developer documentation is at demo.highfidelity.com/sdocs.
What industry is High Fidelity in?
High Fidelity's product category is Spatial Audio Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAFAD, Audio Middleware (Interactive/Game Audio), with a secondary code of MPACAEAM, Spatial Audio & Metaverse Voice Platforms. Its SIC code is 7370.