Insights
about us
Brane Audio is a sound technology company breaking the laws of bass.
For decades, achieving deep bass has been the defining constraint of portable speaker performance. With RAD, our proprietary Repel-Attract Driver, we've broken that constraint, delivering an order-of-magnitude increase in sub-bass output without growing the speaker or increasing energy use.
The result: the deepest-hitting portable speakers on the market, at a size and battery life once thought impossible.
our story
A Breakthrough Decades in the Making.
Brane Audio was founded in 2015 to explore fundamentally new sound technologies, but the work behind it began more than two decades earlier.
The Repel-Attract Driver (RAD) is the result of over 30 years of electro mechanical research and device development.
Joe at Active Power in the mid-90s
Our team
Joe Pinkerton
Co-Founder & CEO
Dave Badger
Co-Founder & VP of Engineering
Bill Lackowski
Co-Founder & CTO
TJ Smyrson
VP of Operations
Derrick Johnson
VP of Sales
Rachael Henke
Chief Marketing Officer
Born in Austin, TX
Brane Audio is proudly headquartered in Austin, TX, the Live Music Capital of the World, and a thriving hub for innovation. It's a city where music and engineering naturally intersect.
That spirit inspires what we build. Deep bass makes live music the experience it is, the kind you feel in your chest before you even register the note. We design our technology to bring that same depth, impact, and physical feeling into everyday listening.
The journey
1992-1995
Magnetic Bearing Technologies is founded
Joe Pinkerton founded Magnetic Bearing Technologies (MBT) in Austin, developing novel magnetic bearings that would eventually contribute to development of the RAD.
1992-1995
Magnetic Bearing Technologies is founded
Joe Pinkerton founded Magnetic Bearing Technologies (MBT) in Austin, developing novel magnetic bearings that would eventually contribute to development of the RAD.
1995-1999
MBT becomes Active Power
MBT shifted its focus to clean energy systems for backup power and changes name to Active Power (AP), raising $45M in venture capital.
1997
Dave Badger joins Active Power
Dave Badger joined AP to help with difficult control problems; this general knowledge laid the groundwork for future RAD and Brane X development.
2000
Active Power goes public
AP is taken public.
2006-2007
Clean Energy Labs begins graphene research
Pinkerton stepped down as CEO of AP, founded Clean Energy Labs (CEL), and began conducting graphene research at the University of Texas at Austin's nanotech lab.
2010-2015
Graphene membranes produce sound
Dave Badger and Bill Lackowski joined CEL full time. The team discovered a way to produce sound efficiently using graphene membranes.
2015
Brane Audio is founded
Brane Audio is founded to pursue a new way of making sound using membrane-based transducers (thus the name Brane Audio).
2015-2019
The SEMA smart speaker
Brane Audio developed a smart speaker using its Sub-millimeter Electrostatic Membrane Array (SEMA) technology. This audio work informed the development of Brane X.
2020
SXSW launch canceled
The planned SXSW launch of the SEMA smart speaker was canceled due to COVID-19.
2020-2022
Brane X breaks the Iron Law
Brane Audio focused on RAD development and created Brane X, the first portable speaker with a true built-in subwoofer, breaking Hofmann's Iron Law.
2023
Brane X debuts at CES
Brane X debuted at CES and SXSW. Brane Audio became independent of Clean Energy Labs following its first financing round.
2024
TIME Best Inventions of 2024
Brane X launched commercially and was named one of TIME's Best of Inventions of 2024.
2025
RAD2 and the Party Pro prototype
Brane Audio advanced RAD to its second generation, with a 30-fold advantage in deep-bass output, and built the first Brane Pro prototype.
2026
RAD2 unveiled at CES 2026
The second generation of RAD is unveiled at CES 2026 and named to Billboard's Best of CES and eCoustics' Best in Show.
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