A Dublin music tech startup has scooped €1.5m in funding from a Californian investor
Xhail has created a system that composes songs at the click of a button.
DUBLIN-BASED MUSIC TECH startup Xhail has bagged a fresh €1.5 million in funding from a Californian investor.
Xhail was founded nearly five years ago by Mick Kiely, a musician from Gorey, Co. Wexford who now resides in California, and his wife Moira Kiely.
The firm has created cloud-based music production software that allows users to access composers’ instrumental tracks to build and create their own songs.
The service is targeted at editors and producers working in music, film, TV and advertising.
Over the past six months, Score Music Interactive, the company behind Xhail, has received €1.5 million in funding from California-based investor Bridge Brothers LLC.
The investment was made in three tranches since October of last year, with the US firm investing one lot of €641,000 and two investments of €429,000, according to filings with the Companies Registration Office.
The company declined to comment on the investment when contacted by Fora.
Bridge Brothers previously backed Xhail in 2016. This latest injection of cash has brought its total investment in the firm up to €3 million.
Since it was founded in 2013, the startup has also secured funding from a number other investors. In total, Xhail has raised nearly €5 million in funding.
Mick Kiely
A tool for composers
Xhail is based in the Media Cube, a startup hub at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, and also has an office in Hollywood, California.
The firm’s founder Kiely has some pedigree in the music industry. He previously composed tracks for video games and was a co-founder of Games Music Ireland, a programme for teaching composers how to make music for games.
His latest venture, Xhail, has previously partnered with the Los Angeles Film School and provided students with access to the platform to score their student films.
The company said its offering differs from traditional music libraries as it creates music in real-time based on the user’s specifications. This music is then licensed to the user.
As part of the arrangement with users, Xhail holds the copyright of any music created on the platform.
