About Smule
Smule is a Media & Entertainment company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2008 by Jeff Smith. Developer of social music creation and sharing apps. Smule has raised $210.73 million across 13 funding rounds from investors including Tencent, Bessemer Venture Partners and City National Bank. Smule has completed 1 acquisition, including Khush. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Jeff Smith. Its website smule.com draws about 19.5 million monthly visits. Its focus areas include Consumer, Music Tech, Karaoke and Social Singing.
Company details
Founded in 2008 in San Francisco, United States, Smule operates in the digital entertainment sector as an online karaoke platform. Music videos are created, discovered, and shared by users through mobile applications available on Android and iOS devices. Participation and connections among users are enabled across the platform. Revenue is generated via advertisements and in-app purchases, supporting ongoing operations in social music experiences.
Apps and channels of Smule
Smule publishes 1 mobile app with over 100M+ downloads.
Funding Insights of Smule
Smule has successfully raised a total of $210.73M across 13 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series F round of $14.17 million completed in December 2022. 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 $210.73M
- Total Rounds 13
- Last Round Series F — $14.17M
- First Round $1.7M
(Sep 2008)
- Investors Count 11
Latest 10 of 13 funding rounds of Smule with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2022 | $14.17M | Series F | – | – | – |
| Apr 2019 | $31.82M | Series F | – | Times Bridge | – |
| Oct 2018 | $20M | Series F | – | Times Bridge | – |
| May 2017 | $54.45M | Series F | – | Tencent | |
| Jun 2016 | $22.01M | Series E | – | – | – |
| Apr 2015 | $12M | Debt – Conventional | – | – | |
| Apr 2015 | $26.05M | Series E | – | Adams Street Partners | |
| Apr 2014 | $16.64M | Series D | – | Roth Capital Partners | |
| Oct 2011 | $12M | Series C | – | Shasta Ventures | |
| Jul 2011 | Series B | – | 500 Global | – |
11 investors in total: 11 institutional.
Investors in Smule
Smule has secured backing from 11 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Tencent, Bessemer Venture Partners and City National Bank.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Strategic investment and partnership services are provided by Times Bridge for global companies targeting the Indian market. | 2014 | timesbridge.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Private markets investment management with strategies in equity, credit, and secondary investments. | adamsstreetpartners.com | |||
Venture capital investments and support for entrepreneurs in technology and innovation sectors. | 1911 | bvp.com | Redwood City, United States | |
Early-stage investments are focused on by Floodgate in US startups. | floodgate.com | Menlo Park, United States | ||
Venture capital firm investing in early stage startups | shasta.vc | Portola Valley, United States | ||
Early-stage US tech companies are invested in by the firm. | granitevc.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Venture capital and acceleration are provided to tech startups. | 500.co | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | ||
Value-added internet, mobile, and telecom services are provided in China. | 1998 | tencent.com | Shenzhen, China | |
Diversified investment management services are offered globally by the firm. | 1947 | franklintempleton.com | New York, United States | |
City National Bank is recognized for providing comprehensive banking and wealth management services. | 1954 | cnb.com | Los Angeles, United States |
Investor details for Smule
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
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People of Smule
33 people are tracked at Smule (9 in leadership, 8 in board & advisors, 16 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Jeff Smith | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Jeffrey C. Smith | CEO & Co-Founder | Leadership |
Randal Leistikow | VP Of Engineering | Leadership |
Julia Bastreva | Chief Financial Officer | Leadership |
David Young | Director, Artist & Community Relations | Leadership |
Joseph le Chevallier | Chief Accounting Officer | Leadership |
Martin Venelinov | Senior Vice President Product Management | Leadership |
Diana Dimova | Director Of Finance | Leadership |
Pablo Rosas | Director Of Accounting | Leadership |
Tom Ryan | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Elizabeth Nelson | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Luanne Calvert | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Ken Rudin | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Jason Pressman | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Standish O'Grady | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Chloe Xia | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Ariel Sterman | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Ariyanti D. Linting | Global Community Manager | Team |
Dimcho Karpachev | Senior Android Engineer | Team |
Georgi Todorov | Senior Accountant | Team |
13 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Smule
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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Investments & Acquisitions by Smule
Smule has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 1 company. Notable acquisitions include Khush.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Music creation app developer | khu.sh | Atlanta, United States | 2009 | Dec 2011 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Smule
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
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Timeline of Smule
4 dated milestones of Smule across 14 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Smule is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $1.7M.
- Acquisition Acquires Khush.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series F, of $14.2M.
Web traffic of Smule
The website of Smule (smule.com) receives about 19.5M visits a month and ranks #3,278 among all websites worldwide, #329 in Music.
- Monthly visits19.5M
▲ 1.3% vs previous month
- Unique visitors9.5M
per month
- Global rank#3,278
among all websites
- Category rank#329
Arts and Entertainment · Music
- Bounce rate62%
- Pages per visit2.5
- Average visit2 min 34 sec
- DevicesDesktop 16% · Mobile 84%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Smule. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jiosaavn.com | 100% | 17.7M | #3,631 | View details | |
| gaana.com | 100% | 12.4M | #6,377 | View details | |
lyricstranslate.com | lyricstranslate.com | 87% | #7,323 | – | |
| tamil2lyrics.com | 84% | 3.1M | #21,880 | View details | |
| soundcloud.com | 81% | 122.1M | #299 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Smule
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
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Top companies in Music Tech
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Smule (Music Tech) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-generated music and lyrics are created on an online platform. | 2021 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | USD 775 M | 497 | ||
Broadcast radio channels are aggregated and streamed through subscriptions. | 2002 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 98.35 M | |||
Decentralized audio distribution is enabled for creators via blockchain technology. | 2018 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 16.1 M | 44 |
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Related news about Smule
Complete news archive for Smule
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Frequently Asked Questions about Smule
Smule was founded in 2008.
Smule is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.
Jeff Smith is the CEO of Smule, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Smule is a funded company, having raised a total of $210.73M across 13 funding rounds to date.
Founded in 2008 in San Francisco, United States, Smule operates in the digital entertainment sector as an online karaoke platform. Music videos are created, discovered, and shared by users through mobile applications available on Android and iOS devices. Participation and connections among users are enabled across the platform. Revenue is generated via advertisements and in-app purchases, supporting ongoing operations in social music experiences.
Smule has made 1 acquisition, including Khush.
Smule has 11 investors. Key investors include Tencent, Bessemer Venture Partners, City National Bank, Franklin Templeton, and Roth Capital Partners.
Yes. Smule publishes Smule: Karaoke, Sing & Record, with over 100 million downloads.
The website of Smule receives about 19.5 million visits a month and ranks #3,278 among all websites worldwide.