Smule

Last updated
Smule, Inc.
Company type Private
Industry
  • Mobile music apps
  • Computer software
Founded Palo Alto, California, U.S. (2008 (2008)) [1]
Founders Jeff Smith and Ge Wang
Headquarters,
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
RevenueIncrease2.svg $101 Million (2017)
Number of employees
190
Website smule.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]

Contents

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]

Apps developed

NameRelease Date
Guitar! by SmuleMay 23, 2013
Smule

(formerly Sing! Karaoke or Sing!) [7]

August 8, 2012
AutoRapJuly 17, 2012
Magic Piano by SmuleMay 4, 2011
Magic Piano HD [8] April 1, 2010
LaDiDaSeptember 26, 2009
Magic GuitarDecember 15, 2011
CineBeatDecember 13, 2012
Ocarina 2 June 19, 2012
SongifyJuly 7, 2011
MadPadSeptember 8, 2011
Glee KaraokeApril 15, 2010
I Am T-Pain (Auto-Tune) [9] September 2, 2009
BeatstreamMarch 21, 2012
Leaf Trombone: World Stage April 15, 2009
Magic FiddleNovember 10, 2010
Ocarina [10] November 6, 2008
ZephyrDecember 29, 2008
Sonic Vox October 24, 2008
Sonic Lighter September 15, 2008
Sonic BoomOctober 18, 2008

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "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.
  7. "'Sing!' Lets You Do Just That With Friends Around the World". iTunes . 12 June 2023.
  8. "Lang Lang Plays iPad at Concert". WSJ. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  9. Moore, Matthew (4 September 2009). "Auto-Tune iPhone app 'I Am T-Pain' on sale". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  10. Pogue, David (5 February 2009). "So Many iPhone Apps, So Little Time". New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2013.