GRAI Raises $9M for AI to Boost Social Music Use
AI music companies such as Suno and Udio provide tools that use artificial intelligence to create songs. GRAI takes a different approach. The startup thinks users prefer activities like remixing songs, sharing them with others, or altering a track's style for amusement, instead of starting from nothing.
Artists should choose if others can modify their work and to what degree. GRAI, which just secured $9 million in seed funding, aims to give creators that power. At the same time, it plans to use AI to change how listeners interact with music.
Founders and Company Background
The team behind GRAI comes from Belarus. Its founders previously sold their video app VOCHI to Pinterest. Now based mostly in Poland, they work on fresh AI music offerings. Current products include the iOS app Music with Friends for remixing and an AI music playground for Android. Future releases will help shape how people want to connect with music outside of pure creation or playback.
GRAI co-founder and CEO Ilya Liasun explains the core idea. "The idea that we're building the company around is what the next thing can be in music AI interaction and consumption," he says. The founders launched GRAI because music remains one of the few big consumer areas without a creator-first model.
Discovery fails, listening stays passive, and social elements barely exist, Liasun points out. He rejects fears that AI will end jobs for artists and labels. GRAI sees AI opening new engagement paths beyond basic song generation.
Targeting Younger Users and Building Tech
Products target Gen Z and Gen Alpha. These groups find music through friends, fan communities, and short videos like those on TikTok. They seek ways to join in without becoming producers.
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GRAI built its own graph for tastes and participation, plus custom infrastructure. This includes a derivatives pipeline and real-time audio tech. These keep original tracks' essence intact during changes.
Liasun states the goal clearly. The company works with artists and labels to legalize such interactions. Results avoid flooding streams with extra AI-generated content. "We don't want to share new genAI slop to the streaming service. We actually focus on the interaction part," he says.
Users might tweak tracks in GRAI apps, remix favorites, or shift styles. Those versions could generate new royalties for creators and labels.
Partnerships, Feedback, and Investors
GRAI contacted labels before building social apps. Liasun says they prioritize talks with rights holders. "The main idea here is that we want to build a future system in which artists will have the ability to opt in and opt out." A key principle guides them: ask owners first, then add features. He did not reveal deals or partners.
If remixing catches on, it could expose users to new artists beyond platforms like Reels, TikTok, or YouTube. Initial apps seek all feedback, good or bad, to refine offerings.
Co-founded by CTO Dima Kamarouski and President Andrei Avsievich, GRAI got its $9 million seed round co-led by Khosla Ventures and Inovo vc. Others joined: Tensor Ventures, Tiny.VC, Flyer One Ventures, a16z Scout Fund, and angels including Andrew Zhai (ML in Cursor, co-founder of Genova Labs, ex-Pinterest), Greg Tkachenko (founder of Unreal Labs, ex-Snap), Rob Reid (Founder of Rhapsody), and Dima Shvets (of MirAI and Reface).
Khosla Ventures focuses on early-stage tech and AI bets. Inovo vc invests in Central and Eastern Europe startups. The funding supports GRAI's push into social music experiences. Suno and Udio have drawn attention for full song creation, but GRAI differentiates by emphasizing fun, shared modifications with artist consent.