Tübingen-based Mirelo raises 41 million US dollars in seed round

The AI audio startup Mirelo has closed a seed financing round of 41 million US dollars. The round was jointly led by Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Other investors include Atlantic.vc and TriplePoint Capital.

The startup intends to use the fresh capital to further develop its technology and accelerate the development of a new generation of AI models for audio in video and gaming content.

Audio as a bottleneck in AI-driven video production

While AI models for text and images have developed rapidly in recent years, audio has lagged behind in terms of technology. The company develops specialized AI models that automatically generate synchronized sound effects for videos directly from the visual material.

With the strong growth of generative video applications, audio is increasingly becoming a bottleneck in creative workflows. Standardized or automatically generated sounds often do not meet the creative requirements of professional users. Mirelo positions itself as a solution to this problem and aims to establish audio as an equally important creative layer.

From idea to platform for professional sound design

Mirelo was founded by two AI researchers with a strong musical background. The aim is not to replace sound design, but to make it more accessible. Creatives should be able to generate a synchronized audio design within a few seconds and then adapt it in a targeted manner. For example, tension, atmosphere or style can be changed and variants compared.

The platform already allows users to upload videos and generate high-quality, precisely synchronized sound effects. In the long term, Mirelo is working on a specialized foundation model that is not only suitable for quick drafts, but also for consistent, professional productions. For example, across several scenes or entire projects.

Ambitious goal: the audio layer for visual content

Mirelo's goal is to establish itself as the audio layer for visual content across application areas including video, games, social media and film. In parallel with product development, the company plans to continue building its team and is looking for professionals in the areas of research, engineering, product development and go-to-market.

With the seed round, Mirelo is creating the basis for scaling its technology internationally and placing audio more at the center of AI-supported creative processes.