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Sounder provides an AI-powered platform for audio content classification and data extraction. Its technology precisely identifies podcast topics, enabling granular contextual targeting for advertising. The platform ensures brand safety and suitability by analyzing content against risk thresholds, and generates promotional assets to enhance discoverability and engagement.
Founded in 2019 by Kal Amin, Goran Krgovic, and Dan Daugherty, Sounder initially focused on podcast management. The founders recognized the greater potential in applying advanced AI to audio content analysis, evolving the company towards intelligent data solutions that unlock deeper insights beyond basic hosting services.
Sounder empowers publishers, advertisers, and agencies to maximize digital audio content value through actionable insights. It enhances monetization for creators and enables contextually relevant, brand-safe advertising campaigns. The company envisions leading the future of audio advertising and content discovery with robust, data-driven solutions that drive growth and instill confidence.
Sounder.fm has raised $10.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Sounder.fm has raised $10.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Sounder.fm has raised $10.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Sounder.fm's investors include 01 Advisors, Foundry Group, Freestyle Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Sunset Ventures, The Community Fund, Steve Schlafman, Embedded Ventures, Gaingels, Hyperplane, Jazz Venture Partners, Kearny Jackson.
Sounder.fm has raised $10.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $8.0M Series A in February 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2022 | $8M Series A | — | 01 Advisors, Foundry Group, Freestyle Capital, Queensbridge Venture Partners, Sunset Ventures, The Community Fund, Steve Schlafman | Announced |
| Mar 1, 2020 | $2M Seed | — | Embedded Ventures, Gaingels, Hyperplane Venture Capital, JAZZ Venture Partners, Kearny Jackson, Khosla Ventures, Kitchen Table Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Prime Movers LAB, Seven Seven SIX, Snowflake Ventures, Sommet AB, Sunset Ventures, Tribe Capital, ULU Ventures, Wing Venture Capital, Alex Pattis, Curtis LEE, Kamiar Kordari, Varsha RAO, Bombas, Divergent Capital, Jenny Friedman, Volition Capital | Announced |
Sounder.fm is a technology company that provides an audio intelligence platform designed to help podcast creators, publishers, advertisers, and enterprises optimize podcast content discovery, engagement, monetization, and brand safety. The platform leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to analyze podcast transcripts and audio, enabling deep contextual understanding and classification of podcast content. This allows advertisers to perform contextual targeting and ensure brand safety, while creators and publishers gain insights to grow their audiences and revenue. Sounder serves podcast creators, brands, advertisers, and audio companies by solving the problem of effective podcast monetization and safe, precise ad targeting in the rapidly growing digital audio advertising market. The company has shown strong growth momentum, culminating in its acquisition by Triton Digital in March 2024, which expanded its reach and capabilities in the audio advertising ecosystem[1][2][3][5].
Founded in 2019 by former Google and Spotify executives, Sounder emerged from the founders’ expertise in audio technology and digital advertising. The idea originated from the need to bring sophisticated AI-driven analytics and brand safety tools to the podcasting industry, which was facing challenges in ad targeting and monetization. Early traction included partnerships with major audio companies like iHeartMedia, which leveraged Sounder’s Audio Data Cloud to enhance podcast promotion, audience engagement, and brand safety across its network. These pivotal moments helped establish Sounder as a key player in the podcast management and audio intelligence space[1][4].
Sounder rides the wave of rapid growth in podcasting and digital audio advertising, a market driven by increasing consumer audio consumption and advertiser demand for measurable, brand-safe ad placements. The timing is critical as advertisers seek more sophisticated tools to navigate the fragmented podcast ecosystem and ensure their ads reach relevant audiences without brand risk. Market forces such as the rise of programmatic audio advertising, AI-driven content analysis, and the need for scalable podcast monetization solutions work strongly in Sounder’s favor. By enabling data-driven, contextually relevant advertising and providing creators with monetization tools, Sounder influences the broader audio ecosystem by accelerating the professionalization and commercialization of podcast content[2][4][5].
Looking ahead, Sounder is positioned to deepen its impact within Triton Digital’s portfolio by expanding its AI-driven promotional tools, enhancing contextual targeting capabilities, and scaling its brand safety solutions globally. Trends such as increased adoption of AI in media planning, growth in programmatic audio advertising, and heightened brand safety concerns will shape its journey. Sounder’s influence is likely to evolve from a podcast management platform to a central hub for audio intelligence, driving innovation in how audio content is monetized and advertised. This trajectory ties back to its founding mission of empowering creators and advertisers with cutting-edge AI technology to unlock the full potential of the podcasting medium[5][6].
