Spotify acquires Soundwave to leverage technology platform

The world’s biggest music streaming site Spotify has acquired Dublin start-up Soundwave, whose technology tracks what songs people are listening to on their smartphones in real-time.

The amount Spotify paid for Soundwave has not been disclosed. Soundwave has raised $2.9m in four investment rounds from 14 investors including ACT Venture Capital, Enterprise Ireland, Radical Investments, Spark Labs, Xandex Investments LLP, NDRC and individual investors including Iain MacDonald, Matthew Le Merle, Mike Ryan, Paddy Holohan, Per Brilioth, Mark Cuban and Trever Bowen.

Soundwave was founded in Dublin in 2012 by CEO Brendan O’Driscoll, CTO Aidan Sliney and COO Craig Watson and up until this point has been headquartered above a shop in Rathmines. The company was first written about by Siliconrepublic.com in 2012 when it emerged as the winner of that year’s NDRC accelerator.

Soundwave tracks the music you are listening to and shares this on your Soundwave profile – allowing you to see what your friends are listening to and start conversations about music.

Spotify, which is battling Apple Music, Google Music, Deezer and other streaming giants in what is the biggest transformation in music consumption in history, has been eyeing Dublin as a base since 2012 and the acquisition of Soundwave gives it a presence in Ireland.