Smule is an American mobile app developer with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company specializes in developing social music-making and collaboration applications for iOS, Android, and Web.
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.'" In December 2011, Smule acquired fellow music app developer Khush. On July 31, 2013, Wang stepped down from his role at Smule to return to Stanford full-time. Smule had 52 million monthly active users in 2017. 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.
Apps developed Name Release date Guitar! by Smule May 23, 2013 Smule (formerly Sing! Karaoke or Sing!) August 8, 2012 AutoRap July 17, 2012 Magic Piano by Smule May 4, 2011 Magic Piano HD April 1, 2010 LaDiDa September 26, 2009 Magic Guitar December 15, 2011 CineBeat December 13, 2012 Ocarina 2 June 19, 2012 Songify July 7, 2011 MadPad September 8, 2011 Glee Karaoke April 15, 2010 I Am T-Pain (Auto-Tune) September 2, 2009 Beatstream March 21, 2012 Leaf Trombone: World Stage April 15, 2009 Magic Fiddle November 10, 2010 Ocarina November 6, 2008 Zephyr December 29, 2008 Sonic Vox October 24, 2008 Sonic Lighter September 15, 2008 Sonic Boom October 18, 2008
References
External links Smule may be the biggest music app you haven't heard of Duets.fm - A companion app for Smule