Quincy Jones Makes Strategic Investment In AI Startup Musimap

22 October 2020 - Press release

- Legendary 28-time Grammy winner will act as special adviser to the startup transforming the personalised recommendations space
- Investment is being made via Jones’ media & artist management company Quincy Jones Productions
- Former President of Dolby International Andreas Spechtler also invests, joining board of directors

 

Emotional Artificial Intelligence company Musimap has welcomed Quincy Jones as an investor.

Musimap captured Jones’ imagination after testing its psycho-emotional profiling engine, MusiMe, which builds emotional profiles for listeners, detailing mood, feelings and values based on their listening history.

Jones marvelled at the engine’s analysis and accuracy when presented with a complete personality profile, recognising the power of personalised recommendations to refashion music consumption. In addition to being an investor, he will act as a special adviser to Musimap, utilising his industry standing to foster relationships and help the business grow.

Music icon, Jones, has long been regarded as a pioneer in the music technology space, investing in Spotify in its early days, as well as piano-learning software, Playground Sessions, alongside Jammcard.

Jones’ career spans seven decades, with notable achievements including becoming the first African American Vice President of a major record label, as well as producing Michael Jackson's all-time best-selling album, Thriller. In 2017, he launched Qwest TV, a service offering high-definition streams of concerts and musical documentaries.

Quincy Jones says: “I’m incredibly impressed by Musimap’s technology and am delighted to be able to help them grow with this investment. I was pleasantly surprised by how accurate my personality profile was when testing MusiMe, and it’s apparent that the product has a tremendous amount of potential.”

In welcoming Jones onboard, Musimap Managing Director, Patrick Zucchetta, said: “We are delighted that Quincy Jones has shown such an interest and enthusiasm for Musimap and our products. We are looking forward to working with him and learning from the expertise he and his team will provide.”

Sharing Jones’ enthusiasm for the startup’s aims and accomplishments, CEO and founder of Silicon Castles and former President of Dolby International Andreas Spechtler has also become an investor in Musimap as well as joining the board of directors.

Speaking about the deal, Spechtler said: “I have been following Musimap for many years. This company has married deep music metadata with other relevant data in their unique AI engine to serve the entertainment markets and beyond. Musimap will support all markets where emotions are key for consumer behaviour like in e-Commerce, dating and advertising. I am happy to join the Musimap team as a new board member.”

Investment fund and start-up accelerator LeanSquare is also investing in Musimap as part of its commitment to supporting the music technology sector in Belgium and beyond.

Commenting on the Quincy Jones investment, Laurent Burton, President of LeanSquare, added: “The exceptional talent of Quincy Jones not only reinforces the credibility and positioning of Musimap as experts in the AI music sector but also boosts its product development through Quincy’s extraordinary experience and musical expertise. LeanSquare looks forward to seeing the positives this brings for the future of Musimap.”