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Initial Capital has led a seven-figure funding round in this Netflix for karaoke startup

A Finnish startup that has developed the first all-digital karaoke service has closed a €1.75m (approx. £1.52m) funding round led by London-headquartered venture capital fund Initial Capital.

The funding round for Singa, which also included participation from Tamares Holdings, Superhero Capital, Reaktor Ventures and Tekes, will support its scaling push as it looks to cement itself as a household name in the global karaoke arena.

Providing a cloud-based, Spotify-style approach to karaoke, Singa currently offers two services - its consumer version delivered via its web, Android, iOS and others apps, and its pro commercial offering for pubs, bars and other venues.

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Atte Hujanen, who has over 10 years’ experience in the karaoke industry, said that the space is ripe for innovation which Singa hopes to capitalise on.

He commented: “Karaoke has not changed since the 1990s. This is one of those stories where you have a market that, at face value, seems unsexy but represents a huge opportunity flying under the radar of most people.

“Singa is digitising and redefining an entire industry, striking at something that people already love to do - singing.”

The Helsinki-based startup has already raised €2.65m in funding, including this seed round, and provides over 20,000 fully-licensed tracks on its platform.

Shakeeb Alireza, Partner, Initial Capital believes the company has enormous potential and looks well primed to capture such a fertile market.

He said: “We were impressed with Singa’s management team’s ability to leverage their relationships in the music distribution space globally and build a solid platform with limited resources.

“We believe the combination of their business and direct-to-consumer offerings is truly powerful. They’re uniquely positioned to become the leading player in a very deep niche with significant untapped potential.”