Local angel investors have funded the University of New Hampshire’s fifth spinoff company, Setem Technologies, which is using the research of mathematics professor Kevin Short to develop signal separation technology that addresses the “cocktail party problem” -- the ability to focus on a specific speech source and mitigate/eliminate any extraneous background noise or interference.

“This technology can be used on any application, service or device that is dependent on capturing and delivering voice clarity,” said Anthony Cirurgiao, Setem co-founder and CEO. “Background noise impacting speech perception is one of the greatest problems affecting voice command systems, hearing aids, cell phones, headsets and other microphone dependent devices and services.”

Participating in the $1.3 million funding for the startup were a number of angel investors, including the eCoast Angel Network, a small group of angel investors eager to invest in local companies.

George McQuilken, one of the investors in the eCoast Angel Network, is eager to see more ideas coming out of UNH and works closely with Marc Sedam, executive director of UNH’s Office for Research Partnerships and Commercialization.

“A lot of new companies fail,” McQuilken said. “If you invest in something that fails you lose your money. What’s nice about ideas coming out of the university is that it has a reputation for doing high-quality research. When you first meet an entrepreneur, sometimes you don’t know if you’re talking to the next Galileo or just a dreamer. We feel very confident about the work being done at UNH.”

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Contact Marc Sedam in UNH's Office for Research Partnerships and Commercialization at marc.sedam@unh.edu or (603) 862-4130
Follow Marc on Twitter @UNHinnovation