A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya Launches Music Apps Focused on Creative Interaction, Not AI
A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya has raised $5.5 million in a pre-seed round led by Mantis VC and other notable investors including former Spotify executive Dawn Ostroff. The startup is developing creative music apps that allow users to interact with sound through various tools without relying on generative AI prompts. Founded by Máuhan M Zonoozy, who previously held innovation roles at Spotify and founded Bubbl, the company aims to shift how people engage with music from passive consumption toward active creation. Its products include browser extensions like Speed Surfer and web-based apps such as Usersound and Stacks that let users remix or manipulate sound in unique ways. Zonoozy emphasizes a human-centric approach over AI-driven content generation, believing interaction and creativity are key to the future of music technology. The company plans to release an iOS app called 'bop' and is working on multiplayer features for collaborative song creation.
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Topics: AI generative AI music technology startups