Human Inc. still isn’t saying much about its idea, but the Seattle startup is raising more money and recruiting experienced business leaders.
The year-old company today announced a $5 million investment round, pushing total funding to date near $6 million. It also noted that Bill Moore, previously CEO of companies like RootMetrics and Allrecipes, is now its president and executive chairman.
“There’s something special going on here at Human, you can feel it in the air the minute you walk into our offices” Moore said in a statement. “The next generation of tech innovators is being established and Human encompasses that unique combo of status-quo crushing technology and strong brand identity to truly set themselves apart. I’m thrilled to bring my experiences to this talented team.”
GeekWire previously reported on Human’s initial $700,000 seed round investment this past December. The company, led by co-founders Benjamin Willis and Joe Dieter, wants to change the way we listen to audio, though further details are still scant.
“This is something we wanted to do for a long time,” Willis, the CEO, told GeekWire in December. “It’s a take on sound and headphones that will completely disrupt and replace much of what the industry is currently using.”
Before founding Human one year ago, Dieter and Willis launched a housewares startup called Yum Tools, which made innovative kitchen products like a citrus zester. They sold that company in 2014 to LifeTime Brands specifically to start Human, which is the duo’s fourth startup.
Dieter and Willis are running Human under an umbrella company called Genus, which they founded in 2014.
Human now employs 40 people inside the old Rainier Brewery building just south of downtown Seattle, which is up from 15 in December. Investors include folks like Fred Warren, former managing director of Brentwood Associates; Darling Ventures Managing Director Daniel Darling; and Sugar Mountain Capital CEO Kurt Beecher Dammeier.
“There’s something very special going on at Human,” Dammeier said in a statement. “There’s been little innovation in audio technology in the past several years. This team has a clear vision and plan to deliver a product that enhances and complements our everyday lives.”
