Sound Particles: sound in 3D

“To put it simply, we use computer graphics techniques applied to sound. Instead of mixing sounds, we create a 3D software, and position sound in a 3D space. For example, it could take days and huge resources to create the sound of a battlefield, with 50-60 sounds at the same time. With our software, in 15 minutes, you can generate more than 10,000 sounds and create a battlefield scene on a totally different level. It allows creatives to work with sound in a new way,” explains Nuno Fonseca, founder and CEO of Sound Particles.” explains Nuno Fonseca, founder and CEO of Sound Particles. Their software initially targeted the big screen, but has since expanded to video games, with clients that include the likes of all major Hollywood studios, Game of Thrones, Frozen 2 and Star Wars 9 and Playstation.

Nuno is a former university professor with a PhD in computer engineering and a passion for music and cinema. “When I did those tests at high school to see what career is best suited to your profile, I got the same score for engineering and music. But at the time, sound engineering wasn’t available...” Instead, he brought the two together on his own and created this revolutionary sound design software application that can create highly complex sounds better and faster than ever.

In 2018, Sound Particles received an equity investment from Indico Capital, backed by the EIF under the EU’s Investment Plan for Europe. “The goal was to enlarge the team,” he explains. “We were still bootstrapping with a small team of 3. We brought in more developers and grew the business side as well, expanding to around 10-1. It accelerated everything. Indico has also been by our side, offering mentoring and advisory services throughout the journey.”

Founding his own company has been a challenge: “What is not hard about it? You need to worry about everything: staffing, finances, clients...”. But regardless, Nuno is still grateful. “The first time I went to Disney, I entered from the furthest gate, so I would have to cross the whole studio! Even if the whole thing goes south tomorrow, I don’t regret anything. I’ll never forget finding myself discussing how to use the software to produce the sounds for The Mummy (with Tom Cruise as the main actor). That’s an amazing experience for someone passionate about cinema…”