The Echo Nest Corp., the provider of data-driven music services that launched yesterday at DEMO, has also revealed its first round of venture funding. The startup said Boston-area firm Commonwealth Capital Ventures has led a round of undisclosed size, which also includes "select angel investors." The new investment builds on existing funding from MIT professor Barry Vercoe and hedge fund Argos Management, as well as a grant larger than $1 million from the National Science Foundation.
Echo Nest has developed a recommendation engine and other tools based on both a cultural analysis tool that trawls the Web for information about music and a software application that "listens" to music and generates descriptive data. The company has built a sales strategy around application programing interfaces (APIs), and intends to provide music tools to third-party sites. -- Paul Bonanos
See press release from Echo Nest (via MarketWatch)
See Sept. 8 post from Tech Confidential concerning Echo Nest's launch
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