Willard Ahdritz, the founder of Kobalt Music Group, has agreed to lead a funding round in Madverse Music Group, the New Delhi-headquartered music technology company.
The investment is being made through Ahdritz Capital, Ahdritz’s personal investment vehicle, and is what Madverse calls its first institutional funding round.
Madverse did not disclose the size of the round.
Ahdritz Capital has entered into a binding investment agreement to lead the financing, which Madverse describes as a Series Seed round.
Completion of the transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, Madverse said.
Ahdritz will join Madverse‘s board of directors once the deal closes.
The round also drew participation from Mohnish Sani and Suraj Sani of SumoSan Ventures in the US, Ashish Jain and Sidharth Kohli of 10X Global in India, and Vijay Sajjanhar of Marigold Capital in Dubai.
Madverse said the funding would accelerate its expansion across AI-powered technology, rights management, distribution, and artist services globally.
Madverse was founded in 2023 by CEO Rohan Nesho Jain.
The company describes itself as building AI-enabled infrastructure for music distribution, publishing, marketing, and fan engagement.
The platform now represents more than 200,000 independent artists and labels across more than 45 countries, according to Madverse.
That is up from the 150,000 artists and labels it reported in January.
Artists on the platform have collectively surpassed 3 billion streams, the company said, and grew 25% in the past month.
Artists distributing through Madverse include Nucleya, Neeti Mohan, Rishabh Rikhiram, Sukriti Prakriti, Karan Kanchan, Phenom and Arpit Bala.
“Madverse was born with one purpose: to build the most powerful, most accessible independent music ecosystem in the world, starting from India.”
Rohan Nesho Jain, Madverse
“Madverse was born with one purpose: to build the most powerful, most accessible independent music ecosystem in the world, starting from India,” said Rohan Nesho Jain, Founder and CEO of Madverse.
“Willard joining this journey is a defining moment for Madverse and a statement to the entire industry. He fundamentally changed what independence in music could mean for an artist.
“The next independent wave will be led from India – and Madverse will be at the center of it.”
“Madverse allows artists to maintain independence, without sacrificing autonomy or control over their work and brand. I’m thrilled to back them as they look to expand globally.”
Willard Ahdritz
“The next generation of music companies will establish our industry’s new global hubs,” said Ahdritz.
“Rohan and the Madverse team are proving this with an incredible, comprehensive technology platform serving a growing creator class in India and beyond.
“Madverse allows artists to maintain independence, without sacrificing autonomy or control over their work and brand. I’m thrilled to back them as they look to expand globally.”
In January, Kobalt struck a global publishing partnership with Madverse, giving the Indian company’s artists access to Kobalt’s publishing infrastructure across more than 180 territories.Music Business Worldwide
