Splash, a company that is developing a new way for people to create, perform and connect with live music using AI-powered tools and video games, announced today it raised a $20M USD Series A, co-led by Amazon’s Alexa Fund and BITKRAFT Ventures with participation from Khosla Ventures and King River Capital. The investment will be used to improve the range of AI-powered virtual instruments, expand the variety and quality of Splash virtual venues, grow the Splash community, and establish key partnerships in gaming, entertainment, and music.

Founded in 2017, Splash believes that making music should be simple, intuitive, fun, and accessible to everyone. The company has three areas of focus including Splash Games, Splash Tools, and Splash Stars.

• Splash Games: Using platforms like Roblox, Splash games enable players to interact with music in unique ways ranging from performing live for friends across a large range of genres and designing fun venues to playing music-related mini-games. To date, the game has amassed over 128 million plays and averages 10 million plays per month, with over 5.4 million people performing live on stage in Splash.

• Splash Tools: A suite of composition and production tools for musicians to help them create and edit unique compositions, explore various musical styles and controls, and experiment with a number of AI-powered instruments

• Splash Stars: Virtual character Kai became the first star to emerge from the game and is a source of inspiration to the Splash community. Kai’s first music video for her title track “Breathe Again” has had over 1.7 million views to date and the virtual celebrity has collectively performed her music to over 140,000 players in Splash.

“We are growing a team of musicians, technology professionals, gamers, and creatives who have joined our mission to find new and inventive ways to inspire the next generation of musicians.  With over 7.8 million people who have made music in Splash, we are on track to one day host the world’s must-attend virtual performances,” said Stephen Phillips, CEO of Splash.  “We are thrilled to have incredible investors in our corner who believe in our mission to launch the next generation of superstars and become the place where millions of people perform live daily.”

“Splash sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence and new media generation with a next-gen music creation game that enables people to express themselves beyond the constraints of social media,” said Paul Bernard, Director of the Amazon Alexa Fund. “We’re impressed with what the Splash team has achieved as we continue to expand the focus of the Alexa Fund across consumer technologies more broadly, including  synthetics, virtualization, new creator-focused concepts, and NFTs.”

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“Music and gaming have always had a symbiotic relationship. Through the advent of synthetic reality, we expect the intersection to grow. More time spent in in-game environments means there is an increased opportunity to discover and share the music that connects us to our favorite games and to each other. As the creator economy expands beyond pictures and videos, we view Splash as a platform that opens doors for a new class of creators and enthusiasts who are making and sharing music with their communities and paving the way for a more immersive form of entertainment in virtual worlds,” commented Carlos Pereira, Principal at BITKRAFT Ventures.