14 DAY TRIAL // SoundCloud, the online music and audio sharing and hosting platform, is finally confirming what has been rumored for months, the Berlin-based company raised funding from the US venture firm Union Square Ventures and Geneva's Index Ventures. The round actually closed a few months back, as was initially rumored, but it has only now been revealed.
"Last year Fred Wilson and Mike Volpi from the venture firms Union Square Ventures and Index Ventures joined the SoundCloud family," SoundCloud revealed.
"They’ve made an investment in SoundCloud, which is cool because it will allow us to grow faster, be more present in the US and build a lot more nice things for you," the blog post explained.
"But even cooler is that we get two new superstars joining the team. We would have introduced them earlier but we were just a bit too busy building new awesome apps at the time," it added.
SoundCloud doesn't go into any of the details of the investment, but there's some information in there if you read between the lines.
One thing that is obvious, SoundCloud wants to conquer the US market. Considering that the web, for all of its global reach, is dominated by US companies, any outside product that not only manages to make a splash, but also get the attention of US investors, is clearly doing something right.
SoundCloud is solidifying its role as the leader in audio hosting and sharing. So far, it appealed to artists wanting more control over what they put out, when and how, or looking for an involved audience.
But if SoundCloud wants to grow beyond this, it will have to expand its focus, which is what it's doing. It has recently introduced sound recording features, both on the site and in the freshly minted mobile apps.
Highlighting its new focus, SoundCloud also posted has some recordings of both Fred Wilson and Mike Volpi, talking about the site.