Smule Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Smule is valued at $604M as of May 2017, a 6.0x multiple on its last reported $101M revenue.
Last Smule valuation
$604M
Series H · May 2017
Last Smule funding round
$14M
Series A · Dec 2022
Smule revenue
$101M
Series H · May 2017
Key investors in Smule
Bessemer Venture Partners
Shasta Ventures
Cherry Tree Investments
Adams Street Partners
Granite Ventures
ROTH Capital Partners
About Smule
Smule is a San Francisco-based developer of music-making social apps connecting users worldwide. The company produces AutoRap, Magic Piano, Guitar!, Sing!, and Ocarina for collaborative performances. Smule enables vocal effects, instrument simulations, and community sharing on iOS and Android. Founded in 2008, it powers millions of daily sessions with features for duets and live jams across global servers.
Founded
2008
HQ
San Francisco, CAWebsite
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Product sales
Revenue
$101M (May 2017)
Valuation
$604M (May 2017)
Smule Valuation
Smule is currently valued at $604M, based on its Series H in May 2017.
The $54M round was led by Tencent, with participation from Adams Street Partners, Cherry Tree Investments, Bessemer Venture Partners, Floodgate and Shasta Ventures.
Smule valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2017 | Series H | $604M | 6.0x |
Smule Revenue
Smule's latest recorded revenue is $101M, as of its Series H in May 2017. At a $604M valuation, that implies a 6.0x revenue multiple.
Smule revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2017 | $101M | $604M | 6.0x | Series H |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
Smule Funding History
Smule has raised a total of $153M across 6 funding rounds.
Smule's first fundraising round was a $17M Series E in April 2014. The most recent completed round was a $14M Series A in December 2022.
Smule funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2022 | Series A | - | $14M | - | Smule raised $14.17M in a Series J round on December 6, 2022. The company develops music creation applications that connect people globally. Smule has raised a total of $202M over 12 funding rounds, with a prior valuation of $604M in its May 2017 Series H round of $54M. Another source lists total funding at $189.06M+ as of a May 12, 2022 venture round. Smule operates in the media and entertainment industry, providing interactive music experiences through mobile apps and user-generated content platforms. |
| Oct 2018 | Undisclosed stage | Times Bridge (lead) | $20M | - | Smule is a US-based music-focused social networking platform founded in 2008 by Jeffrey Smith and Ge Wang, offering apps like a karaoke platform, Songify MP3 store, and Magic Piano for users to collaborate, sing along with artists, and create music globally. It secured a $20 million strategic investment from Times Bridge, the venture arm of India's Times Group, around October 17, 2018, to expand in India, its second-largest international market after the US, by building communities, artist collaborations, regional programs, and targeted advertising leveraging Times Group's resources. This marked Times Bridge's third investment that year, following MUBI and Houzz, and positioned Smule as its first social music platform partner in India. The Times Bridge round added to Smule's prior fundraising, including a $54 million investment led by Tencent in May 2017 that valued the company at $604 million post-money, backed by investors like Adams Street Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Floodgate, Franklin Templeton, Shasta Ventures, and Granite Ventures. Earlier, Smule raised $22.2 million in 2016 from undisclosed investors. By October 2018, Smule reported 50 million monthly active users and had accumulated approximately $165 million in total funding prior to the Times Bridge deal. The investment aimed to tap into India's passionate music culture and multilingual market, enhancing authentic user connections amid growing digital music trends. Sources noted India's digital music industry generating over 70% of its $191.2 million revenue from downloads and streams per a 2017 KPMG report, with streaming projected to reach $101 million in 2018 and market volume growing to $135 million by 2022 at a 5.4% CAGR. |
| May 2017 | Series H | Tencent (lead); Adams Street Partners; Cherry Tree Investments; Bessemer Venture Partners; Floodgate; Shasta Ventures | $54M | $604M | Smule, Inc., a San Francisco-based social music app developer founded in 2008, creates collaborative music apps such as Sing! Karaoke, Magic Piano, and AutoRap, enabling users to record and share musical performances including duets with artists like Ed Sheeran and Luke Bryan. The company closed a $54.45 million funding round on May 8, 2017, led by Tencent with participation from existing investors Adams Street Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Floodgate, Shasta Ventures, and others including Franklin Resources and Granite Ventures. This round valued Smule at $604 million post-money, bringing total funding raised to approximately $145 million after a prior $22.2 million round in June 2016. At the time, Smule reported $101 million in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016, with 52 million monthly active users, reflecting 52% growth over 2016 and two-thirds located outside the US, including 40% in Southeast Asia and one-third in North America. The investment focused on international expansion, particularly in Asia leveraging Tencent's reach, amid plans for potential IPO within 18 months. Tencent, a major player in streaming and social media with investments in music platforms like Kuwo and KuGou, viewed Smule as key to the digital music market. Smule's platform influences music sales, as seen when a Luke Bryan and Jason Derulo duet doubled sales for 'Want To Want Me.' CEO Jeff Smith aimed to build a social network around music to promote artists and engage users globally. |
| Jun 2016 | Series G | Adams Street Partners; Cherry Tree Investments; Bessemer Venture Partners; ROTH Capital Partners; Granite Ventures; Shasta Ventures | $22M | - | Smule is a Palo Alto, California-based mobile developer of music applications and games founded in 2008. The company operates social music platforms enabling users to create, share, and collaborate on music content across iOS and Android devices. In June 2016, Smule raised approximately $22 million in Series G equity financing according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, with existing backers Adams Street Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Granite Ventures, Roth Capital Partners, and Shasta Ventures participating in the round. However, subsequent funding activity shows the company raised $54 million in Series H funding led by Tencent in May 2017 at a valuation of approximately $604 million, indicating significant growth in company value within the subsequent twelve months. The company's trajectory demonstrates strong investor confidence in the social music application market segment during this period. |
| Apr 2015 | Series F | Adams Street Partners (lead); Cherry Tree Investments; Bessemer Venture Partners; Shasta Ventures | $26M | - | Smule Inc. develops social music apps enabling users to perform and share music, including singing, piano, guitar, and dance, transforming passive listening into active participation. The company raised $38 million in April 2015, comprising $26 million in equity led by Adams Street Partners with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and Shasta Ventures, plus $12 million in debt from City National. Funds were allocated to marketing, product development, and international expansion. By 2014, Smule generated $40 million in revenue from 350,000 paying subscribers, with 85% from subscriptions rather than one-off purchases in its freemium model. This brought total funding to $80.1 million, following prior investments from entities like ROTH Capital Partners, Granite Ventures, 500 Startups, and Floodgate, though some did not join the 2015 round. Cherry Tree Investments is mentioned in the query but not in sources for this round. |
| Apr 2014 | Series E | ROTH Capital Partners (lead); Cherry Tree Investments; Bessemer Venture Partners; Granite Ventures; Shasta Ventures | $17M | - | Smule develops social music apps including Sing! Karaoke and Magic Piano. In April 2014, the company raised $16.6 million led by ROTH Capital Partners, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Shasta Ventures, and Granite Ventures. This brought total funding to $42 million at that time. Funds supported product development including Smule Nation, international expansion starting with Asia, and growth of existing products. At the time of the round, Smule reported a $30 million annual run rate, with 80% from subscriptions and 20% from advertising. Sales doubled in Q1 2014 compared to Q1 2013. Monthly unique users grew from 9 million to 18 million, website traffic tripled to 1.5 million unique monthly visitors, and the company achieved break-even monthly cashflow. |
Who has invested in Smule?
9 investors have backed Smule across its funding rounds, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Shasta Ventures, Cherry Tree Investments, Adams Street Partners, Granite Ventures and ROTH Capital Partners.
Lead investors include Times Bridge, Tencent, Adams Street Partners and ROTH Capital Partners.
Smule Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 4 | Participant | Apr 2014 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 4 | Participant | Apr 2014 | |
| United States | 4 | Participant | Apr 2014 | |
| Chicago, IL | 3 | Lead | Apr 2015 | |
| Los Angeles, CA | 2 | Lead | Apr 2014 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Participant | Apr 2014 | |
 Shenzhen | 1 | Lead | May 2017 | |
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialSmule Competitors
Smule competitors include listed companies like VNG Corp., Yalla Group and JOYY, and private ones like Triller, SoundCloud and Quora.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vietnam | Publicly listed | $420M | $23M | $657M | - | |
 UAE | Publicly listed | $342M | $128M | $827M | - | |
| Los Angeles, CA | Private | - | - | $1.3B | - | |
 Singapore | Publicly listed | $2.1B | $160M | $3.9B | 1.1x | |
 Berlin | Private | - | - | $700M | - | |
| San Francisco, CA | Private | $190M | - | $500M | - |
Smule Public Comps
Smule is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Tanwan, YG Entertainment, Reservoir Media, Hubei Century Network, DoubleDown Interactive, VNG Corp., NetDragon Websoft, Hello Group, Truecaller and Guangxi Xinxunda.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $620M | $294M | 0.5x | - | 1.1x | - | |||
| $397M | $73M | 1.3x | 1.2x | 7.1x | 7.4x | |||
| $176M | $68M | 6.1x | 5.9x | 15.7x | 14.2x | |||
| $179M | $6M | 2.4x | 2.1x | 68.9x | - | |||
| $360M | $133M | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.9x | 0.8x | |||
| $420M | $23M | 1.4x | - | 25.5x | - | |||
| $667M | $106M | 0.9x | 1.0x | 5.8x | 4.1x | |||
| $1.5B | $215M | - | - | - | - | |||
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Common questions about Smule
| When was Smule founded? | Smule was founded in 2008. |
| Where is Smule headquartered? | Smule is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Smule publicly listed? | No, Smule is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Smule's valuation? | Smule was last valued at $604M in its Series H in May 2017. |
| How much funding has Smule raised? | Smule has raised $153M across 6 funding rounds. |
| What was Smule's last funding round? | Smule's last funding round was a $14M Series A in December 2022. |
| Who are Smule's investors? | Smule's investors include Cherry Tree Investments, Bessemer Venture Partners, Shasta Ventures, Adams Street Partners, ROTH Capital Partners, Granite Ventures, Tencent, Floodgate and Times Bridge. |
| What is Smule's revenue? | Smule's latest recorded revenue is $101M (May 2017). |
| What is Smule's revenue multiple? | Smule's latest valuation implies a 6.0x revenue multiple ($604M valuation on $101M of revenue). |
| Which companies are comparable to Smule? | Companies comparable to Smule include VNG Corp., Yalla Group, Triller, JOYY, SoundCloud and Quora. |
See companies similar to Smule
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