The start-up, which is based in London, is the proprietor of Dubler, a form of voice recognition technology for music creation.

Music plays a near-omnipresent role in our lives, so it makes sense to assist and encourage musicians in their ventures.

According to Statista, 2023 saw the total revenue of the recorded music industry amount to $28.6bn, while global streaming revenues reached $19.3bn in the same year.

Overall, recorded music increased by 10pc, representing a steady growth rate compared to the previous year.

Vochlea Music’s founders, George Wright and Daven Sanassy, recognise this sector’s potential, and so together, the duo decided to establish the start-up in 2017.

Wright studied engineering science and later design and innovation at the Royal College of Art and Imperial. This is where he also started his first company, which went on to join Y Combinator. The first prototypes for Vochlea Music were also created during this time.

Then, Wright met Sanassy, a former lead developer with a doctorate in computer science and advanced algorithmic functions. Later, Kelly Angood joined the business. “Initially, she led our successful Kickstarter campaign, but she eventually became a core part of the senior management team and has helped shape the company’s direction,” said Wright.

Operating out of London, Vochlea Music’s flagship product is Dubler, a voice recognition technology tool for music creation. The company, which currently employs 14 people, also has plans to release an intelligent audio note-taking tool for musicians on smartphones called ‘dubnote’.

Wright told SiliconRepublic.com that Vochlea Music fashions tools to serve a broad spectrum of music makers, from casual creators to professional musicians. “Our desktop tools cater to digital musicians who use existing music software, while our mobile tools are accessible to anyone with musical ideas, regardless of their experience level,” he said.

“Our proprietary technology leverages advanced machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and audio processing. We integrate tools like OpenAI’s Whisper for transcription, but much of our innovation lies in our own unique models and algorithms for converting voice to instrumentation, segmenting audio and machine listening.

“These technologies are embedded across all our products to streamline music creation.”

Wright said the company’s ultimate end goal is to become the “go-to solution for capturing musical ideas across mobile, web, and desktop”.

“Imagine backstage at a future Grammys where, despite the broad range of music represented, all the artists are discussing how the foundation of their craft was built with our tools.”

‘Vibrant and supportive’ start-up scene

According to Wright, the company has found fortune in its location, as London’s start-up scene is “vibrant and supportive”.

“Traditionally strong in B2B and fintech, it’s nice to see it become increasingly welcoming to B2C and creative tech,” Wright said. “Organisations like MusicTech UK and Abbey Road Red have fostered a thriving community for companies like ours in the creative technology space and, of course, it is part of a very well-connected larger network within Europe and beyond.”

Like any emerging start-up, Vochlea Music has experienced some challenges such as growth and fundraising. However, the biggest challenges, according to Wright, relate to people.

“As a key founding principle, we believe a company should have a supportive, respectful, inclusive and open culture. If you want that to be more than words, then you have to make it a priority. This can be a challenge and sometimes is in conflict with ‘move fast and break things’.

“However, this commitment has been key to our high retention rates and ability to attract top talent, and to our general sustainability as a company.”

He added that progress is good for Vochlea Music, with “thousands of users all over the world”.

“We’re also close to launching dubnote, with the goal of putting our empowering technology into the hands of millions.”

At present, Vochlea Music is seeking investment to scale its mobile offerings and unify its products into an integrated suite that spans mobile, web and desktop platforms.

“We were recently fortunate enough to win the MediaTech Pitch Day in Potsdam organised by Raw Ventures, and we are continuously pitching and presenting our investment opportunity globally,” Wright added.

Vochlea Music is also taking steps to ensure it can be as sustainable as possible. “We’ve shifted from selling a hardware-software package to predominantly software-only solutions, reducing our reliance on manufacturing and shipping,” he said.

“Additionally, we optimise AI computations to lower energy usage, which not only minimises environmental impact but also improves the efficiency of our products.”

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