Israel-based music learning app developer JoyTunes has secured $50m in a funding round led by GV, a corporate venture capital subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet, at a $1bn valuation, Calcalist reported yesterday.
The round also featured Qualcomm Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, and Hearst Ventures, the venture capital division of media group Hearst, according to Globes. GV provided $25m through the round, Calcalist reported.
JoyTunes develops apps which help users learn musical instruments using sound recognition technology and artificial intelligence.
The company’s core product is Simply Piano, which can be used by both beginners and more experience players to learn and improve their piano skills. It recently launched a new app, Simply Guitar, and claims to have 1 million learners per week.
JoyTunes had previously raised $25m in a 2019 round led by Qumra Capital that also featured fellow venture capital firms Insight Partners and Aleph as well as Jeremy Stoppelman, the CEO and founder of Yelp.
Investors including Genesis Partners, Founder Collective and Kaedan Capital provided $2m for the company across two seed rounds before it secured $5m in a 2014 series A round co-led by Formation 8 and Aleph with participation from Genesis Partners, and $10m in series B funding from Insight Partners and Genesis Partners in 2018.