Sonilo, TikTok Veterans' AI Audio Startup, Raises $11 Million

Sonilo, a San Francisco generative audio startup founded by veterans of TikTok's AI and music divisions, has raised $11 million in a round led by B Capital, with Redpoint also participating.

The company will spend the money on computing power to scale its models. It also plans to expand its footprint with creators and developer platforms and build out its music licensing business.

What does Sonilo's technology actually do?

Sonilo's core product is what it calls the Sound World Model, a multimodal system that links video comprehension to audio generation and timing. It does not treat music and effects as standalone pieces. Instead, it reads a scene's movement and emotional shifts, then produces audio built for that particular footage. Users can upload a clip, type a description or combine the two to get a synced soundtrack ready for commercial use.

"We built Sonilo to understand the visual story. You give us the footage, and Sonilo understands what's happening frame by frame, including the pacing, emotion, and story, and generates music and sound effects that naturally fit the scene," said Shawn Song, Sonilo's CEO and co-founder.

Who is behind the company?

The founding team carries deep TikTok and music-industry credentials:

• Shawn Song, CEO and co-founder: trained at CMU, led multimodal AI technology work at TikTok.
• Alex Yin, CTO: holds a doctorate in computer music from the University of York; worked alongside Song at TikTok.
• Keli Li, COO: built and ran TikTok's global music operation, with a background in rights deals and music-business partnerships.
• Trista Taylor, CMO: runs product and market launch; helped develop consumer AI apps that made a16z's Top 50 rankings.

The platform targets creators in short-form video and short dramas, developer platforms assembling AI video tools, and enterprise production teams. It also offers AI dubbing with lip-sync, allowing short-drama outfits and content studios to localize video into other languages without manual post-production editing. AI creator aggregator TapNow and ComfyUI have signed on as early distribution partners.

Why did B Capital invest?

"We believe generative audio will become an essential part of the AI-native video stack. Sonilo stands out because its multimodal technology gives creators two ways to generate music and sound effects: describe what they want in text, or provide a video and let the model create audio that fits the scene," said Daisy Cai, general partner at B Capital.

B Capital, founded in 2015, manages more than $9 billion and has teams in nine locations across the U.S. and Asia.

How does Sonilo handle music rights?

Shutterstock is an early licensing partner. Sonilo said its models learn from licensed music, and that artists and rights owners receive licensing fees plus a share of revenue. The company is wrapping up publishing and master recording agreements with major rights organizations, which it expects to close within weeks.

The consumer app is set to launch in the fourth quarter, putting the video-to-music tool directly in the hands of individual creators. If those rights agreements close on schedule, Sonilo will enter that launch with both the technology and the licensing framework in place — a combination few generative audio competitors can claim.