Genius

Brooklyn, United States Founded: 2009 • Age: 17 yrs Acquired By MediaLab
Crowdsourced annotations for lyrics and web content are provided.

About Genius

Genius is a company based in Brooklyn (United States) founded in 2009 was acquired by MediaLab in September 2021. It operates as a Advertising Model and Freemium. Genius has raised $93.89 million across 11 funding rounds from investors including Lerer Hippeau, MediaLab and Seven Seven Six. Genius offers products and services including Song Lyrics Database and Musical Knowledge Platform. Genius operates in a competitive market with competitors including Musixmatch, SyncPower, OpenSongApp, MultiChords and Hymnary Apps, among others.

  • Headquarter Brooklyn, United States
  • Sectors
    Media & Entertainment
    Technology
  • Website category Arts and Entertainment · Music
  • Website genius.com
  • Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram YouTube
  • Acquired by MediaLab (Sep 2021)
  • Legal Name Ml Genius Holdings, Llc
Key Metrics
  • Total Equity Funding
    $93.89M (USD)

    in 11 rounds

  • Latest Funding Round
    $5.84M (USD), Series B

    Sep 2020

  • Investors
  • Acquired by
    MediaLab

    (Sep 2021)

Products & Services of Genius

Genius offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Song Lyrics Database and Musical Knowledge Platform.

Song Lyrics Database
Digital Content

A vast collection of song lyrics is provided.

Musical Knowledge Platform
Digital Content

Musical knowledge and insights are shared online.

Apps and channels of Genius

its YouTube channel Genius has 12.3M subscribers and 30 videos.

Genius
YouTube 12.3M subscribers 30 videos Music
Open channel

Videos from Genius

The most watched videos on Genius's YouTube channel, Genius (12.3M subscribers). Click a video to play it here.

d4vd & jasontheween "Summer Uptown" Lyrics & Meaning | Genius Verified
261.2K views
That Mexican OT "Off The Lean" (Live Performance) | Genius Open Mic
186.1K views
Kehlani "Folded" Lyrics & Meaning | Genius Verified
183.9K views
ATEEZ "In Your Fantasy" Lyrics & Meaning | Genius Verified
169.5K views

More on Genius.

Funding Insights of Genius

Genius has successfully raised a total of $93.89M across 11 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $5.84 million completed in September 2020. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.

  • Total Funding $93.89M
  • Total Rounds 11
  • Last Round Series B — $5.84M
  • First Round $6.5M

    (Nov 2009)

  • Investors Count 13

Latest 10 of 11 funding rounds of Genius with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
Sep 2020$5.84MSeries B––
–
Mar 2018$15MSeries B––
Nov 2015–Series B––
Jul 2014$40MSeries B–a16z
Dec 2013$5.5MSeries A––
Oct 2012$16.9MSeries A–a16z, Alexis Ohanian
–
Sep 2011$1.9MSeries A––
Aug 2011$1.8MSeries A––
Aug 2011$125,000Seed––
Mar 2011$327,054Series A–Y Combinator
–
Valuation history

14 investors in total: 13 institutional and 1 angel.

Investors in Genius

Genius has secured backing from 14 investors, including venture fund, angel, and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Lerer Hippeau, MediaLab and Seven Seven Six.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
Angel
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
Tech focused VC firm that does seed and early stage investments in the US
–detroit.vcDetroit, United States
Venture capital investments in technology sectors are handled by Andreessen Horowitz.
–a16z.com-
Early-stage investments in tech companies are made globally.
–softbankvc.comNew York, United States
USA focused VC firm investing in seed and early stage startups
2010lererhippeau.comNew York, United States
Venture capital investments are offered to startups by NEA.
–nea.comMenlo Park, United States
-
–afsquare.com-
Global tech sector investments are managed by Fenox Venture Capital.
–fenoxvc.comTaipei, Taiwan
VC firm making investment in early stage companies in the US
–transmediacapital.comSan Francisco, United States
Investing in creators, organizing AI events, and building community in New York.
–betaworks.com-
Early-stage startups are accelerated via funding and educational programs.
–ycombinator.comMountain View, United States
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Investor details for Genius

The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.

  • Complete investor list
  • Round participation
  • Investor portfolios
  • Co-investor network

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

People of Genius

27 people are tracked at Genius (10 in leadership, 17 in team).

NameRoleGroup
Jennie Telehowski
Chief Product OfficerLeadership
Zach Connett
VP, Sales & Brand Partnerships EASTLeadership
Michael Heyward
CEOLeadership
Andrew Gordon
Deputy General Counsel, VP Business & Legal AffairsLeadership
Nicole Krupchak
VP Of Human ResourcesLeadership
Manuel Gómez
VP of EngineeringLeadership
Nick Tapalansky
Senior Director Of Trust & SafetyLeadership
Callie Timpanaro
Senior Account DirectorLeadership
Andrew Liu
Head Of Corporate DevelopmentLeadership
Alex Regen
Sr. Account DirectorLeadership
Ben Gross
General CounselTeam
Colby Handy
Product ManagerTeam
Latisha Hudson
Media Sales AssistantTeam
Wei Lan
Engineering LeadTeam
Hiroshi Farias Saito
Software EngineerTeam
Fernando Angli
Senior Android DeveloperTeam
Hernando de Sá Silva
Software EngineerTeam
Enzo Bonggio
Software EngineerTeam
Jason Salter
Staff EngineerTeam
Rodrigo Dumont
Ios DeveloperTeam

7 more people are available in the full profile.

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Complete people profiles for Genius

Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.

  • Full employee list
  • Team structure
  • Board tenure
  • Professional contacts

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Timeline of Genius

4 dated milestones of Genius across 12 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.

  1. Founded Genius is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round of $6.5M.
  3. Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $5.8M.
  4. Exit Acquired by MediaLab.

Competitors of Genius

Genius operates in a dynamic and competitive business environment, facing competition from various established players and emerging companies in the market. The competitive landscape includes prominent companies such as Musixmatch, SyncPower, OpenSongApp, MultiChords and Hymnary Apps, among others.

Company NameDomainFoundedHQ LocationTotal fundingEmployeesDescription
musixmatch.com2010Bologna, Italy$13.12M–
Music lyrics database is provided for search and viewing.
syncpower.jp2006Chiyoda, Japan––
Lyrics recognition and synchronization with music are provided.
opensongapp.com2016Tranent, United Kingdom––
Free app for song management, display, and performance tools for musicians.
multichords.com2019Madison Heights, United States––
App for accessing music lyrics, chords, and interactive tools.
hymnaryapps.com2017Baton Rouge, United States––
Develops mobile apps for accessing Christian hymns, lyrics, and worship songs.
utakashi.com2017–––
Functions as an online platform for streaming anime music.
nomadlyrics.com2010Annandale, United States––
Provides an online platform for lyrics solutions.
afghansonglyrics.com2014–––
Offers online platform for searching and browsing Afghan music lyrics.
sharetee.org2021–––
App-based platform for learning music lyrics and chords.
Premium access

Detailed competitors of Genius

The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.

  • Full competitor set
  • Operating metrics
  • Benchmarks
  • Competitive positioning

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Web traffic of Genius

The website of Genius (genius.com) receives about 176.6M visits a month and ranks #240 among all websites worldwide, #19 in Music.

  • Monthly visits
    176.6M

    ▼ 0.7% vs previous month

  • Unique visitors
    70.4M

    per month

  • Global rank
    #240

    among all websites

  • Category rank
    #19

    Arts and Entertainment · Music

Similar websites

Websites whose visitors overlap most with Genius. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.

WebsiteDomainAudience affinityMonthly visitsGlobal rankProfile
azlyrics.com
azlyrics.com
100%
–#6,066–
musixmatch.com
99%
13.5M#4,392View details
last.fm
96%
28M#1,367View details
soundcloud.com
94%
122.1M#299View details
letras.com
letras.com
90%
–#1,459–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
Premium access

All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Genius

The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.

  • 40 similar websites
  • Audience overlap
  • Engagement analytics
  • Traffic by brand

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Latest news on Genius

Premium access

Complete news archive for Genius

Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.

  • Full article archive
  • Source and publication date
  • Older coverage
  • Brand-specific news history

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Similar companies to Genius

10 companies that operate in the same segment as Genius (Music Tech), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.

CompanyDescriptionFoundedLocationTotal fundingRevenueEmployees
Online platform for on-demand music and radio streaming
2007Paris, FranceUSD 445.42 MUSD 627.4 M566
Music streaming is offered on-demand to global users.
2006Stockholm, SwedenUSD 2.06 BUSD 19.4 B–
Broadcast radio channels are aggregated and streamed through subscriptions.
2002San Francisco, California, United StatesUSD 98.35 M––
Music streaming services are provided online for free.
2007Berlin, Berlin, GermanyUSD 437.81 M––
A ticketing platform for live events is offered by DICE.
2014London, England, United KingdomUSD 238.27 M––
Decentralized audio distribution is enabled for creators via blockchain technology.
2018San Francisco, California, United StatesUSD 16.1 M–44
Music creation and collaboration are enabled through an online platform.
2013New York, New York, United StatesUSD 164.5 M––
Music streaming solutions for businesses are provided.
2014Stockholm, SwedenUSD 54.62 M––
Mobile jukebox app is used for venue customer engagement.
2010Oakland, California, United StatesUSD 6.82 M–80
Music is licensed via a cloud-based platform for professional use.
2009Stockholm, SwedenUSD 476 M––
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Frequently Asked Questions about Genius

Genius was founded in 2009.

Genius is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States. It is registered at Brooklyn, New York, United States.

Genius is a funded company, having raised a total of $93.89M across 11 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $327.05K, raised on Nov 2009.

A comprehensive database of song lyrics and musical knowledge is maintained by Genius. The platform serves a global community of contributors who add and annotate content. Various genres including rap, pop, and rock are covered. Features like charts, videos, and artist news are provided to enhance user engagement. The service is accessible worldwide through its online presence.

Genius's top competitors include Musixmatch, SyncPower and OpenSongApp.

Genius offers Song Lyrics Database and Musical Knowledge Platform.

Genius has 14 investors. Key investors include Lerer Hippeau, MediaLab, Seven Seven Six, Detroit Venture Partners, and Dan Gilbert.

Genius operates through Ml Genius Holdings, Llc.

Yes. Genius was acquired by MediaLab in September 2021.

The website of Genius receives about 176.6 million visits a month and ranks #240 among all websites worldwide.

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