Why Audio’s Next Leap May Live on a Chip

Sound remains one of the hardest components to shrink as consumer devices get smaller and more wearable. Traditional speakers rely on moving membranes and mechanical structures that take up space, use power and limit how compact audio hardware can become.

Denmark‑based deep‑tech company SonicEdge is pursuing a different route. Its micro‑speakers use MEMS and semiconductor fabrication to produce sound directly from a chip rather than a conventional moving driver. The result: much smaller transducers with broader bandwidth, higher efficiency and virtually no mechanical vibration.

CEO Dr Moti Margalit explains the idea grew from first‑principles physics and a practical user need: his co‑founder uses a hearing aid and wanted better music reproduction. SonicEdge’s solution relies on thousands of microscopic elements on a millimetre‑scale chip that operate at ultrasonic frequencies. An acoustic modulator then extracts the audible pressure components to reconstruct sound humans can hear.

Physically, the company describes an ultra‑fast air pump running around 400,000 cycles per second, replacing the slow membranes found in traditional drivers. Instead of scaling size, SonicEdge scales speed — delivering full‑spectrum audio up to 20 kHz from a fingertip‑sized device.

That technical profile brings several practical benefits: far slimmer form factors (speakers weigh ~100 mg versus ~1.5 g for small micro‑speakers), improved comfort for long wear, potential battery savings, better passive isolation and simpler integration into custom‑fit earbuds, hearing aids and glasses.

SonicEdge is already partnering with Earfab to combine phone‑based 3D ear scans and MEMS audio for truly custom earbuds. The startup also has a multimillion‑dollar contract to adapt its chips for smart glasses, where weight, leakage and privacy drive higher power needs for current micro‑speakers.

SonicEdge expects first products in early 2027 and plans to expand into smartphones and larger devices later. For device makers chasing smaller, higher‑quality audio, chip‑scale speakers could become an attractive new design axis.