Founders: Josh Glick, Chris Ostoich, Rodney Williams (CEO)
Launched: 2012
Headquarters: Cincinnati
Funding: $18.9 million (PitchBook)
Valuation: $62.5 million (PitchBook)
Key technologies: Internet of things
Disrupting: Audio, mobile

This Cincinnati-based company has developed a way to use audio, rather than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, to transmit data between devices. LISNR is a near-ultrasonic, low-power data transmission technology that allows fast, reliable and secure communication between devices — like smartphones — that have a speaker or a microphone. The company says its proprietary technology acts as a proxy for data transmission, thus eliminating the need for complex and expensive radio frequency or audio fingerprinting-based technologies. And unlike Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, LISNR audio technology is not dependent on hardware or connectivity; it just needs sound to make a connection. It sells its wireless transmission technology to companies with connected products and services across a number of different industries. The company has more than 100 partnerships and customers, including Intel, Amdocs, JLR and Visa.

Read the full story at CNBC.