Smule

Reviewed active Updated Mar 24, 2026

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Location San Francisco, California
Founded 2008
Latest Stage Series J
Total Raised $211M
Website https://www.smule.com
Sector
music social consumer mobile

Investors

David Cowan seed (2008)
Mike Maples Jr. series-a (2009)
jason-pressman series-d (2011)
Bessemer Venture Partners seed (2008)
Floodgate series-a (2009)
granite-ventures series-a (2009)
shasta-ventures series-c (2009)
adams-street-partners series-f (2015)
tencent series-h (2017)
times-bridge series-i (2018)

Founders

Jeff Smith CEO & Co-Founder
Ge Wang Co-Founder & CTO

About

Smule is a social music platform founded in 2008 by Jeff Smith and Stanford professor Ge Wang that enables users to sing, create, and share music collaboratively 1. The company’s flagship app, Sing! Karaoke, connects millions of users worldwide through collaborative music-making 2. Smule has raised approximately $211M across 13 funding rounds 3.

Funding History

Date Round Amount Lead Co-investors
Jul 2008 Seed $1.6M Bessemer Venture Partners — 4
Feb 2009 Series A $3.9M Granite Ventures Floodgate, Bessemer Venture Partners 4
Dec 2009 Series C $8M Shasta Ventures Granite Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners 5
Oct 2011 Series D $12M Shasta Ventures Granite Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners 6
Apr 2014 Series E $16.6M Undisclosed Bessemer Venture Partners, Granite Ventures, ROTH Capital Partners 4
Apr 2015 Series F $26M Adams Street Partners Shasta Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners 4
Jun 2016 Series G $22M Adams Street Partners Undisclosed 7
May 2017 Series H $54M Tencent Adams Street Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Floodgate, Franklin Templeton, Shasta Ventures 2
Oct 2018 Series I $20M Times Bridge — 8
Dec 2022 Series J $14.2M Undisclosed Bessemer Venture Partners 3

What Investors Say

“I’ve backed founders who are bipolar and pregnant and had all kinds of distractions and impairments. In general, if I can find an entrepreneur who is brilliant and passionate and honest, we’ll work around the other stuff.” — David Cowan, Bessemer Venture Partners, on backing Jeff Smith while he pursued a PhD at Stanford 9

“Smule is a deeply original, bold idea with a mission of changing the way the world experiences music. Our investment will advance Smule’s music mission across the Indian subcontinent and unlock the creativity of many millions along the way.” — Rishi Jaitly, CEO of Times Bridge 10

What Founders Say

“Indian audiences are passionate about connecting through music. We want to enhance those connections in an authentic way and we are thrilled to partner with Times Bridge to marshal the best of The Times Group on Smule’s behalf.” — Jeff Smith, CEO & Co-Founder 10

“Smule is about empowering our community to do more of what they love — from singing with their favourite celebrities to collaborating with friends to discovering new music.” — Jeff Smith, CEO & Co-Founder 10

“The best product wins. What might be the distinction between a product and a technology? From our company’s perspective product…thinks about the user experience and how likely the user is to come back.” — Jeff Smith, CEO & Co-Founder, Startup Grind interview 11

“If you get the formula right in the iPhone market and you empower your customers, they could become your Chief Marketing Officer.” — Jeff Smith, CEO & Co-Founder, Startup Grind interview 11

Sources

  1. Smule company website, accessed March 2026. https://www.smule.com↩

  2. TechCrunch, “Social music startup Smule raises $54M for Asian expansion,” May 9, 2017. https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/09/social-music-startup-smule-raises-54m-for-asian-expansion/↩↩

  3. Crunchbase, Smule Company Profile & Funding, accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/smule↩↩

  4. JCount, “Smule Raises $38M,” April 2015. https://www.jcount.com/smule-raises-38m/↩↩↩↩

  5. TechCrunch, “App Store Champ Smule Raises Another $8 Million,” December 16, 2009. https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/16/app-store-champ-smule-raises-another-8-million/↩

  6. TechCrunch, “Music App Developer Smule Raises $12 Million,” October 31, 2011. https://techcrunch.com/2011/10/31/sec-watch-music-app-developer-smule-raises-12-million/↩

  7. PitchBook, “SEC filing reveals $22M financing for Smule,” 2016. https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/sec-filing-reveals-22m-financing-for-smule↩

  8. TechCrunch, “Smule raises $20M, with plans to expand India operations,” October 17, 2018. https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/17/smule-raises-20m-with-plans-to-expand-india-operations/↩

  9. TechCrunch, “How Smule’s Jeff Smith Got A Ph.D. While Running A Startup,” December 15, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/12/15/smule-jeff-smith-ph-d/↩

  10. Times Bridge, “Smule Announces Strategic Investment from Times Bridge in India,” 2018. https://timesbridge.com/press-releases/smule-announces-strategic-investment-from-times-bridge-in-india/↩↩↩

  11. Startup Grind, “From The Vault Jeff Smith (Smule),” accessed March 2026. https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/from-the-vault-jeff-smith-smule/↩↩