Ark Electronics USA and Surfaceink Announce Joint Venture for Advanced Production-Ready Voice Solutions for Consumer Electronics

Ark Electronics USA and Surfaceink announced a Joint Venture to deliver production-ready Voice/Audio modules and custom integrations for Fortune 500 companies, OEMs and start-ups who want their own branded, voice-enabled IoT products and smart technology devices. The new joint venture, ArkX Laboratories, was finalized at the CES 2020 show in Las Vegas.

“With Ark’s manufacturing expertise and Surfaceink’s experience with advanced audio and voice product development, this joint venture offers OEMS and start-ups a better option in voice performance while reducing development costs and accelerating their time-to-market,” said Eric Bauswell, CEO of Surfaceink. “In today’s competitive landscape, time-to-market is everything.”

E.J. Constantine, Founder and Chief Executive of Ark Electronics USA, added, “Talking to our customers both here and overseas, the need for a better voice experience in the market is clear. Brands want more control while mitigating the risks and costs of developing their solutions. Our production-ready solutions are designed and manufactured to enable them to do just that.”

ArkX’s advanced line of ready-made audio/voice products and development kits, powered by Cirrus Logic SoundClear™ and FlexArray™ technology, are designed to outperform the market in far-field voice capture to deliver a better voice experience. The products are Alexa-compatible, meet or exceed all requirements for the Amazon Voice Services (AVS) premium rating product qualifications and are compatible with other platforms. They can be customized for a company’s eco-system and applied to a wide range of products including speakers, soundbars, TV’s, appliances, voice controllers and gadgets. For smart home applications, the modules can be installed in hubs, ceilings, and in-wall.

“Our ArkX solutions add a new dimension to far-field voice by analyzing sound in 3D, unlike the 2-dimensional planar view of other technologies, increasing range and precision in capturing voice and suppressing noise,” said Scott McNeese, Director of Voice Technology at Surfaceink. “Twelve independent AEC’s also make it ideal for soundbars and surround sound solutions.”

Ark Electronics USA is a contract manufacturing and engineering design company based in the United States and China. The company serves leading consumer electronics, mobile communications, automotive, and industrial IoT brands. Their combined technical expertise with agile manufacturing processes enables customers to create original products and solutions at scale.

Surfaceink is a pioneering Silicon Valley product design and development studio that provides full-system and consulting services for Fortune 500 companies and startups including its work on flagship products for global leaders such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Dolby, Fitbit, Google, and Intel. Surfaceink was recently qualified as an Amazon Alexa Consulting & Professional Services Provider (CPS).

ArkX Laboratories is led by executives from both companies to run day-to-day operations and sales. The company’s offices are located in San Jose and Irvine, CA, USA, as well as Qingdao, China.

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