SoundCloud is a company.
SoundCloud has raised $190.0M across 4 funding rounds.
Key people at SoundCloud.
SoundCloud has raised $190.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
SoundCloud has raised $190.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
SoundCloud's investors include ACME Capital, Ambridge Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Batalion Capital, Benchmark, FTX Ventures, General Catalyst, IVP, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, MaC Venture Capital, Meritech Capital Partners.
Key people at SoundCloud.
SoundCloud is a Berlin-based music streaming platform founded in 2007 that enables users to upload, share, and promote their own audio content, serving independent artists, DJs, podcasters, hip-hop creators, and fans worldwide.[1][4][6] It solves the problem of easy music distribution and collaboration for creators without record labels, fostering direct fan connections and community building, with over 175 million users and 200 million tracks as of recent data.[6][7] The platform has shown growth momentum through profitability—achieving its first EBITDA-profitable quarter in Q3 2020—and revenue of €147.6 million in 2019, up 37% year-over-year, despite past financial hurdles.[7]
SoundCloud was founded in 2007 in Berlin by Swedish sound designer Alexander Ljung and musician Eric Wahlforss, who bonded over their passion for music and sought to create an "email for music"—a simple tool like Flickr or WordPress but for audio sharing and feedback.[1][2][3][4] Ljung, a music-obsessed teen turned entrepreneur, and Wahlforss, an artist, started in Sweden before relocating to Berlin, responding to the need for musicians to send large files and collaborate easily via web and mobile.[3][4] Early traction came quickly: by 2011, it had 5 million users, investments from Index Ventures, Union Square Ventures ($10 million), and others like Ashton Kutcher, plus a San Francisco office; pivotal moments included launching in 2008, viral hits like Billie Eilish's "Ocean Eyes" in 2015, and birthing "SoundCloud rap."[3][6]
SoundCloud rides the wave of democratized music creation fueled by smartphones ("portable recording devices in pockets") and social audio trends, timing perfectly with the decline of gatekept labels and rise of viral indie discovery.[3][4][5] Market forces like streaming giants' dominance and copyright debates challenged it—e.g., Sony pulling content in 2015—but partnerships and subscriptions turned it profitable amid a $165 million revenue scale.[2][5][7] It influences the ecosystem by launching careers (e.g., Billie Eilish), blending genres, and empowering hip-hop's underground, positioning as a key innovator in user-generated audio against Spotify-like incumbents.[6]
SoundCloud's pivot to profitability under CEO Mike Weissman (since 2021) signals resilience, with potential for AI-enhanced discovery, global expansions, and deeper creator monetization amid streaming market growth.[1][7] Trends like short-form audio, Web3 royalties, and live collaboration could amplify its edge, evolving influence from indie launchpad to full ecosystem shaper—building on its open roots to stay essential for tomorrow's artists.[4][5] This creator empowerment origin continues to define its path forward.
SoundCloud has raised $190.0M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $70.0M Series E in June 2016.
