Warner Music Asia has partnered with venture capital and investment management firm SOSV to boost tech innovation in the music sector. The companies will investigate opportunities to jointly invest in a number of start-ups nurtured in SOSV’s two accelerators for enterprise and consumer internet, Chinaccelerator and MOX (Mobile-Only Accelerator).
SOSV has invested in, and accelerated the growth of, more than 200 early-stage start-ups, including 15 in the music industry, such as Guitar Hero, GarageBand and Harmonix.
Simon Robson, President, Warner Music Asia, says: “SOSV has an impressive track record in the Asia market with Chinaccelerator and MOX. We’re excited to be partnering with SOSV to discover the next generation of start-up talent, which can help us transform the experiences of music fans.
William Bao Bean, General Partner at SOSV and Managing Director at Chinaccelerator and MOX, adds: “Deep technology is revolutionizing how we experience music and engage with artists, while opening up new ways to support the arts. Bringing Warner Music’s expertise in music and media together with SOSV’s capital and ecosystem of founders, 300+ mentors and global community will prove a powerful force for disruption."
Chinaccelerator launched more than a decade ago and has helped many online consumer companies access the Chinese market and Asia-based B2B enterprises build global businesses. It was the first-ever accelerator to launch in Asia and the only active one to have a unicorn, BitMEX from Batch 8 (Fall 2015), go through its program.
MOX enables start-ups to reach four billion mobile users across Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. It has backed English pronunciation coach ELSA, the first investment in Asia by Google’s AI venture arm Gradient Ventures; fintech company Achiko, which listed on the Swiss SIX Exchange; and UNL, an “Internet of Places” micro-location platform also backed by HERE Technologies.
