# Gaurav Sharma

> Gaurav Sharma is the founder and CEO of Hook, a New York-based AI music platform that lets fans legally remix and mash up licensed songs and share them to social feeds while artists and rights holders keep control and get paid. A Johns Hopkins and Peabody Conservatory-trained musician turned operator, he previously helped scale India's JioSaavn to hundreds of millions of listeners and built and sold two consumer-tech startups. In 2026 Hook closed a $10 million Series A led by Khosla Ventures, bringing total funding to roughly $16 million.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Hook
- **Organizations:** Hook, JioSaavn, Sony Music Entertainment, Pinpuff, HelloSociety, Awaaaz.com
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate studies, Johns Hopkins University, Computer music composition and engineering, Peabody Conservatory
- **Known for:** Founded and leads Hook, the first AI-driven social music remixing platform, Raised roughly $16M total for Hook, including a $10M Series A led by Khosla Ventures, Secured licensing partnerships giving Hook access to more than 20 million songs

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Graduated from Johns Hopkins / Peabody; briefly joined a major record label before being laid off during the post-Napster downturn
- **2011** — Held A&R and lifestyle marketing roles at Sony Music Entertainment
- **2012** — Co-founded Pinpuff, a Pinterest analytics tool, acquired by Science Inc.
- **2013** — Co-founded HelloSociety, an influencer marketing agency later acquired by The New York Times
- **2015** — Served as COO of JioSaavn, helping scale India's largest music streaming service to hundreds of millions of monthly users and securing major-label licenses
- **2023** — Founded Hook, an AI-powered social music remix platform
- **2024** — Hook expanded its seed round to $3.5M and launched on iOS following a Downtown Music licensing deal
- **2026** — Hook closed a $10M Series A led by Khosla Ventures, bringing total funding to about $16M

## Achievements

- Founded and leads Hook, the first AI-driven social music remixing platform
- Raised roughly $16M total for Hook, including a $10M Series A led by Khosla Ventures
- Secured licensing partnerships giving Hook access to more than 20 million songs
- Landed direct artist collaborations with The Weeknd, Joji, Metro Boomin, Lil Wayne and Empire of the Sun
- As COO, helped grow JioSaavn to hundreds of millions of monthly active users
- Co-founded and exited two startups - Pinpuff (to Science Inc.) and HelloSociety (to The New York Times)
- Hook label campaigns have generated more than 250 million views across social platforms

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Hook closed a $10M Series A led by Khosla Ventures, bringing total funding to about $16M; plans include an Android launch, native video and recording, and expanded licensing.
- **2026-01** — Simmi Singh promoted to COO and Chief Product Officer to lead Hook's growth strategy.

## Links

- Website: https://hookmusic.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/gsharma21
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I4xLqiH8i4
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_gsharma/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gaurav-sharma
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-17