Shazam

London, United Kingdom Founded: 2000 • Age: 26 yrs Unicorn Acquired By Apple
App-based music identification platform

About Shazam

Shazam is a Media & Entertainment company based in London (United Kingdom) founded in 2000, and was acquired by Apple in December 2017. App-based music identification platform. Shazam has raised $148.9 million across 7 funding rounds from investors including Apple, Kleiner Perkins and America Movil. The company has 274 employees. Shazam was last valued at $1 billion in February 2015. Its website shazam.com draws about 18.7 million monthly visits. Its focus areas include Consumer, Music Tech, Music Discovery and Songs. Its legal entity is SHAZAM ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED.

Company details

Shazam was founded in 2000 in London, United Kingdom, as an app-based platform in the music technology sector. Songs are identified by users through the mobile application, which connects them to artists, TV shows, advertisements, cinema, radio, and retail settings. Availability is provided for Android and iOS devices. Top music charts are offered across multiple platforms to track popular content.

  • Headquarters London, United Kingdom
  • Employees 274
  • Stage Acquired
  • Sectors
    Media & Entertainment
  • Website category Arts and Entertainment · Music
  • Website shazam.com
  • Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram
  • Acquired by Apple (Dec 2017)
  • Legal Name Shazam Entertainment Limited
  • Date of Incorporation 22 May, 2000
  • Jurisdiction LONDON
Operational Areas
Key Metrics
  • Total Equity Funding
    $148.9M (USD)

    in 7 rounds

  • Latest Funding Round
    $48.9M (USD), Series C

    Feb 2015

  • Investors
    Apple

    & 18 more

  • Employee Count
    274
  • Acquired by
    Apple

    (Dec 2017)

Apps and channels of Shazam

Shazam publishes 2 mobile apps with over 500M+ downloads.

Shazam: Find Music & Concerts
Google Play Music & Audio Teen Free
Developer: Apple Inc.
View on Google Play
Shazam: Find Music & Concerts
App Store Music 12+
Developer: Apple
View on App Store

Funding Insights of Shazam

Shazam has successfully raised a total of $148.9M across 7 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $48.9 million completed in February 2015. 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 $148.9M
  • Total Rounds 7
  • Last Round Series C β€” $48.9M
  • First Round $5M

    (Mar 2004)

  • Investors Count 19

All 7 funding rounds of Shazam with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
Feb 2015$48.9MSeries C$1BDN Capital, Kleiner Perkins
–
May 2014$3MSeries C––
Mar 2014$20MSeries C$500M–
Jul 2013$40MSeries C––
Jun 2011$32MSeries C–IVP, Kleiner Perkins
Oct 2009Series B––
Mar 2004$5MSeries A––
Valuation history
DateValuationStage
Feb 2015$1Bβ€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’
Mar 2014$500Mβ€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’
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Full valuation and stage history of Shazam

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Last known valuation $1B (Feb 2015). 19 investors in total: 18 institutional and 1 angel.

Investors in Shazam

Shazam has secured backing from 19 investors, including venture fund, institutional, and angel investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Apple, Kleiner Perkins and America Movil.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
Angel
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
Venture capital firm focused on software, fintech, marketplaces, and consumer internet
dncapital.comLondon, United Kingdom
Venture capital firm investing in early-stage tech startups
1972kleinerperkins.comMenlo Park, United States
acaciacp.com
Growth in technology companies is supported through venture capital.
ivp.comMenlo Park, United States
Tech focused Venture Capital firm investing globally
idgventures.comSan Francisco, United States
azini.com
Seed & early-stage tech-focused venture capital firm
episode1.comLondon, United Kingdom
Venture capital firm investing in and supporting early-stage companies across various sectors.
artsalliance.co.uk
Investments and acceleration are provided to social technology startups.
socialdiscoverygroup.comNew York, United States
Private equity investments are made in Australia and New Zealand.
fivevcapital.comDarlinghurst, Australia
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Investor details for Shazam

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

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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

People of Shazam

1169 people are tracked at Shazam (295 in leadership, 7 in board & advisors, 867 in team); the tracked headcount is 274.

NameRoleGroup
Erfan Ahmed
Senior Director, Worldwide Offers And Business DevelopmentLeadership
Heather Mewes
Head of Licensing - IP Law, Licensing & Litigation GroupLeadership
Rebecca Cullen
Senior Director, Real Estate And Development - Global Real Estate Expansion And OperationsLeadership
Neville Clubwala
People Business Partner LeaderLeadership
Jasleen Kaur
Human Resources Business PartnerLeadership
Tim Cook
CEOLeadership
Vishwajeet Sukhija
Business Head - EnterpriseLeadership
Drea Zlanabitnig
Associate Creative Director (photography)Leadership
Krasimir Kolarov
Director, Embedded MediaLeadership
Ana Simões
Senior Art DirectorLeadership
Lynne Coy
Sr. Director Talent AcquisitionLeadership
Yancy Rivera
Director Of Recruiting, Aiml, Swe, Is&t, AIS And Inclusive SourcingLeadership
Garret Lee
Store Leader / General ManagerLeadership
Kirsten Haithcox
Senior Director of PeopleLeadership
Priya Balasubramaniam
VP, OperationsLeadership
Hyunjae Kim
Head Of Legal Technology SolutionsLeadership
Ikshit Sharda
People Business PartnerLeadership
Courtney Peck Robles
Director, People OperationsLeadership
Adva Regev
Learning And Development PartnerLeadership
Brian S. Naumann
Vice PresidentLeadership

1149 more people are available in the full profile.

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Timeline of Shazam

6 dated milestones of Shazam across 17 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.

  1. Founded Shazam is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round of $5.0M.
  3. Milestone Reaches Minicorn status.
  4. Milestone Reaches Unicorn status.
  5. Funding Latest funding round, Series C, of $48.9M.
  6. Exit Acquired by Apple.

Web traffic of Shazam

The website of Shazam (shazam.com) receives about 18.7M visits a month and ranks #3,829 among all websites worldwide, #393 in Music.

  • Monthly visits
    18.7M
  • Unique visitors
    11M

    per month

  • Global rank
    #3,829

    among all websites

  • Category rank
    #393

    Arts and Entertainment · Music

Similar websites

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

WebsiteDomainAudience affinityMonthly visitsGlobal rankProfile
last.fm
100%
28M#1,367View details
deezer.com
88%
16.4M#2,775View details
pandora.com
87%
14.3M#4,027View details
soundcloud.com
86%
122.1M#299View details
musixmatch.com
86%
13.5M#4,392View details
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
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All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Shazam

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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

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Related news about Shazam

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Frequently Asked Questions about Shazam

Shazam was founded in 2000 and raised its 1st funding round 4 years after it was founded.

Shazam is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is registered at London, England, United Kingdom.

Shazam is a funded company, having raised a total of $148.9M across 7 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $5M, raised on Mar 2004.

Shazam has 274 employees.

Shazam was founded in 2000 in London, United Kingdom, as an app-based platform in the music technology sector. Songs are identified by users through the mobile application, which connects them to artists, TV shows, advertisements, cinema, radio, and retail settings. Availability is provided for Android and iOS devices. Top music charts are offered across multiple platforms to track popular content.

Shazam has 19 investors. Key investors include Apple, Kleiner Perkins, America Movil, DN Capital, and Sony Music.

The valuation of Shazam is $1B as of Feb 2015.

Shazam operates through Shazam Entertainment Limited.

Yes. Shazam was acquired by Apple in December 2017.

Yes. Shazam publishes Shazam: Find Music & Concerts and 1 more app, with over 500 million downloads.

The website of Shazam receives about 18.7 million visits a month and ranks #3,829 among all websites worldwide.

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