When you’re running on a hot streak of smash hits, it’s not too tough to find investors. Such is the case for Smule, the developers behind I Am T-Pain, Ocarina, Leaf Trombone, and a handful of other App Store success stories.
Today, Smule is announcing that they’ve secured an $8 million dollar round of Series C funding. That’s an absolutely massive pot for a development house focused solely on the iPhone, and it more than doubles Smule’s total funding thus far.
This latest round of funding was lead by Shasta Ventures, and backed by Bessemer Venture Partners and Granite Ventures. Both of the latter companies had invested in Smule before; Bessemer fueled Smule’s $1.6 million seed round, and joined Granite Ventures and Maple Investments for their $3.9 million Series B. All in all, Smule’s total funding to date is coming in at around $13.5 million.
All the fledgling entrepreneurs out there fighting for funding might want to plug their ears at this point; turns out, Smule wasn’t exactly looking to vie for backing right now. Jeff Smith, CEO and co-founder of Smule, on the topic:
“Candidly we were not planning on raising capital at this stage of our business plan. Yet as we got to know the partnership at Shasta, we found they had a similar perspective on the importance of innovation, and a robust understanding of the new consumer market realities. We are therefore excited to have them join us on our mission to redefine the mobile social experience.”
So, what is Smule planning to do with the new-found cash? Make more iPhone apps, of course. It’ll also go toward expanding the “Smule Sonic Network” which serves as the backbone for their applications.