The global speaker market is shifting toward smarter, always-connected devices. Consumers increasingly expect seamless streaming, multi-room audio, voice control, and integration with smart home ecosystems. Yet the underlying connectivity architecture has not kept pace. Most affordable wireless speakers still rely on Bluetooth: inexpensive and energy efficient, but limited in functionality. Wi-Fi speakers offer richer features, but are more complex and costly to develop, which restricts adoption in the mid- and lower-end segments of the market.

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Legato XP addresses this gap by providing a software platform that enables manufacturers to deliver full Wi-Fi functionality at the cost and energy profile of Bluetooth speakers. Its core product, LegatoOS, integrates Wi-Fi streaming, multi-room audio, and cloud connectivity into affordable hardware designs without adding material complexity to production. By reducing energy consumption and system cost while maintaining performance, Legato enables speaker brands to compete on features without sacrificing margin.

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Timing is central to the opportunity. Around 500 million wireless speakers are sold annually, representing a global market of more than €50B. At the same time, the role of AI, streaming services, and smart home integration is expanding. The emergence of the Matter standard is further accelerating interoperability between devices and brands. As connectivity expectations rise, manufacturers face increasing pressure to move beyond Bluetooth toward more capable Wi-Fi architectures. Legato is positioned to provide the enabling software layer for this transition.

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The company is led by CEO Fiede Schilmoeller, former senior executive at Sonos, who brings deep expertise in consumer audio and go-to-market strategy. CFO Gerben Bomers contributes more than 25 years of experience in finance and operations across corporates and high-growth technology companies. Technical development is led by CTO Andrew Kontra, an embedded software specialist with experience at Apple and Latch. Together, the team combines industry knowledge, technical depth, and operational execution experience.

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Legato’s mission is pragmatic: to make advanced Wi-Fi audio functionality accessible across the full spectrum of speaker price points, enabling a more open, interoperable and future-proof connected audio ecosystem.

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