Shazam raises $32M to boost growth of interactive TV apps

Shazam has raised $32 million in new funding, earmarking the investment to support its expansion into interactive television solutions. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Institutional Venture Partners led the new round, with existing investor DN Capital also participating.

The Shazam solution pinpoints audio content from any source, regardless of ambient noise--after users hold their handset to the audio feed for a few seconds, the clip is run through the company's database to find an exact match. The company is closing in on 150 million users worldwide, noting that it has experienced a 100 percent app download increase each week over the last 12 months. In addition, users now identify 4 million pieces of content every day.

Although Shazam is historically synonymous with music identification tools, the company is ramping up its expansion into video with Shazam for TV, which enables networks and advertisers to offer viewers more information about their favorite programs and products. Both NBC and MTV have integrated Shazam for TV into their broadcasts over the last year.

Shazam also continues to enhance its signature music ID app. Last week, the company introduced LyricPlay, a new feature that adds synchronized, real-time song lyrics to its music identification application. LyricPlay is free within the Shazam Encore and (Shazam) Red applications for iPhone and iPod touch. The addition of LyricPlay follows Shazam's acquisition of Silicon Valley startup Tunezee and its synchronized lyric software; financial terms of the Tunezee deal were not disclosed.

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