HARMAN International Industries, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, announced on Monday that it has acquired Roon Labs, a popular music streaming platform that provides high-quality audio and metadata services to audiophiles and music enthusiasts. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Roon, recognized for its audiophile-quality music aggregation, connectivity, and streaming technology, has carved a niche for itself in the world of music enthusiasts. The platform offers a sophisticated interface for exploring and discovering music, compatibility with a wide array of audio devices, and a playback engine designed to deliver exceptional sound quality. Additionally, Roon manufactures hardware server appliances under the Nucleus brand.
Roon Labs was founded in 2015 by a group of former Sooloos and Meridian Audio engineers, who had previously developed a best-in-class platform for file import, file storage, touch-based music browsing, and audiophile networked playback.
Roon Labs leveraged their expertise in networked technology and user interfaces to create Roon, a software that integrates music from various sources, such as local files, TIDAL, Qobuz, and internet radio, into a single, metadata-driven, image-filled interface.
Roon is compatible with a wide range of devices, including Airplay, Chromecast, Sonos, and hundreds of devices that have implemented Roon’s high-performance streaming technology to become Roon Ready.
"At HARMAN we take great pride in our ability to create exceptional audio experiences for our partners and consumers around the world," said Dave Rogers, President, Lifestyle Division, HARMAN.
"The team at Roon shares our passion in bringing exceptional sound and connectivity to music lovers as they browse, discover, and listen at home and on the go. We are looking forward to welcoming Roon, whose impressive talent will join the HARMAN family and bolster our already robust engineering capabilities."
Roon will continue to operate as a standalone business under the HARMAN umbrella, with its existing team remaining intact. The acquisition aims to leverage Roon's expertise in music technology and its dedicated community of device partners and customers.
One key aspect emphasized by HARMAN is its commitment to maintaining Roon's open device ecosystem. With collaborations spanning over 160 audio brands and compatibility with more than 1000 high-performance devices, Roon's extensive network is set to thrive under the HARMAN umbrella. The company's dedication to its loyal community and its user-friendly interface design will be sustained and further developed through the acquisition.
"Our team is ecstatic to join HARMAN, a visionary company that has been leading the audio industry forward for decades. By combining forces with HARMAN, Roon gains the incredible scale, resources, and reach of a global technology leader, while maintaining our independence to invest in the business's growth and future," said Enno Vandermeer, CEO of Roon.
"We look forward to continuing to bring our advanced data management, SaaS expertise, and consumer engagement capabilities to our broad ecosystem of partners, as we join forces with HARMAN to deliver even greater audio experiences to our customers."
The collaboration between HARMAN and Roon is poised to bring together the strengths of both entities, merging Roon's advanced data management and SaaS expertise with HARMAN's extensive resources and global reach. As the two companies embark on this new chapter, consumers and industry insiders alike are eager to witness the innovative audio experiences that will potentially emerge from this synergistic partnership.
