Smule

Smule, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry
  • Mobile music apps
  • Computer software
FoundedPalo Alto, California, U.S. (2008 (2008))[1]
FoundersJeff Smith and Ge Wang
Headquarters
Salt Lake City, Utah
,
U.S.[1]
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products"Sm.ule" app, "AutoRap", "Guitar!", "Ocarina 2, "Glee Karaoke", I Am T-Pain, "Ocarina", "Magic Piano", "Magic Fiddle", Sonic Lighter, Zephyr, Leaf Trombone: World Stage
RevenueIncrease $101 Million (2017)
Number of employees
190
Websitesmule.com

Smule is an American mobile app developer with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.[2] The company specializes in developing social music-making and collaboration applications for iOS, Android, and Web.[1]

The company was founded in 2008 by Jeff Smith and Stanford assistant professor Ge Wang. "Music was the original social network before Instagram and Facebook," said Smith, the co-founder and CEO of Smule. Wang commented that the goal of the apps was to draw users in and "by the time they realize they're making music, 'it's too late — they're already having fun.'"[3] In December 2011, Smule acquired fellow music app developer Khush.[4] On July 31, 2013, Wang stepped down from his role at Smule to return to Stanford full-time.[5] Smule currently has 52 million monthly active users[citation needed]. Smule has raised $156.5 million to date, with Tencent leading their latest fundraising round. "We wanted to bring music back to its social roots," Smith said. "With mobile phones we make people more expressive and can we connect them to make them social together." The company raised $74 million in funding in 2018 from Tencent and Times Bridge, the VC wing of India media conglomerate The Times Group.[6]

  1. ^ a b c "Innovative iPhone Developer Smule Raises $3.9 Million". TechCrunch. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  2. ^ Dredge, Stuart (8 August 2012). "Smule's new iPhone app would like to teach the world to Sing". London: Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Music Startup Smule Promises To Get More Social, Starting With Its New Karaoke App Sing". TechCrunch. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Smule Acquires Khush To Further Boost Their Music Cred". Tech Crunch. December 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  5. ^ Smith, Jeff. "Dr. Ge Wang". Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  6. ^ "Smule raises $20M, with plans to expand India operations". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-10-17.