Social Music Platform Hook Scores $10 Million Series A, Says Its ‘Active Users Have Increased by More Than 45X’ During the Past Year

Photo Credit: Hook

Social music platform Hook has scored a $10 million Series A, teed up an Android app launch, and elevated Spotify vet Simmi Singh to COO.

New York City-headquartered Hook formally disclosed the fresh funding this morning, about 11 months after drawing $3 million in seed capital from Khosla Ventures, Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew, and more.

According to the AI-powered remix and mashup platform, things have been going well since then: Across “the last 12 months alone, Hook’s active users have increased by more than 45X,” per the startup.

Additionally, the TikTok- and Instagram-integrated app is said to boast access to a roughly 20-million-track catalog thanks to agreements with Universal Music, Downtown, Too Lost, Primary Wave, Avex (at least one exec has transitioned from the company to Hook), and others yet.

Enter today’s $10 million funding blast, which was led by the above-noted OpenAI and Splash stakeholder Khosla.

“Hook is solving a hard problem at the center of modern music: enabling remixing and social distribution in a way that works for rights holders at scale,” Samir Kaul, Khosla’s founding partner and MD, said in part. “The team has built a platform that pairs a consumer-native experience with licensing, attribution, and reporting infrastructure that the ecosystem can rely on.”

Meanwhile, co-lead seed investors Point72 Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, and Waverley Capital also contributed to the Series A. All told, Hook has now raised north of $16 million, and execs didn’t hesitate to emphasize their plans for the $10 million tranche.

Besides the forthcoming Android app, the business is eyeing “new community-driven features,” native recording capabilities, an expanded leadership team (open roles include head of growth and head of engineering), and deeper integration tie-ups.

“Hook will also deepen integrations and partnerships across the music ecosystem, extending its open platform while ensuring artists remain in control,” the platform spelled out.

Running with the artist-control point, Hook founder and CEO Gaurav Sharma in a statement touted the app’s commitment to IP protections and monetization.

“Hook was built on a simple idea: fans want to express themselves with the music they love, and artists deserve to stay in control of how their work is used,” added the former JioSaavn COO Sharma. “We’re building the social music platform where creativity can thrive, and where ownership and monetization remain artist-led from day one.”

Back to the initially highlighted promotion, Hook has elevated Simmi Singh to COO. Having come aboard the company in 2023, Singh will tackle the new role while remaining chief product officer.