# Roneil Rumburg

> Roneil Rumburg is the co-founder and CEO of Audius, an open music network connecting artists and fans. A Stanford computer science graduate and former KPCB Edge engineering partner, he previously co-founded Bitcoin payment venture Backslash. His work combines distributed systems, music fandom, artist-controlled distribution, and direct fan monetization.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Audius
- **Organizations:** Audius, Backslash, KPCB Edge, Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES)
- **Education:** BS in Computer Science, systems focus, Stanford University, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founded Audius and leads it as CEO., Co-founded Bitcoin payment venture Backslash., Helped build KPCB Edge and invested in blockchain and AI companies, including Lightning Labs.

## Career timeline

- **2013** — KPCB engineering fellow; worked at Nebula and served as BASES chief operating officer.
- **2014** — Completed Stanford studies; co-founded Backslash, a Bitcoin payment venture.
- **2015** — Joined KPCB Edge as an engineering partner; early Audius concept was shelved because the technology was not ready.
- **2018** — Co-founded Audius.
- **2021** — Audius attracted a $5 million round including working musicians and music-industry investors.
- **2024** — Audius publicly launched its direct artist payment feature.
- **2025** — Audius announced a global licensing agreement with Downtown Music.
- **2026** — Audius and Open Audio Protocol announced music infrastructure for coding agents and developers.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Audius and leads it as CEO.
- Co-founded Bitcoin payment venture Backslash.
- Helped build KPCB Edge and invested in blockchain and AI companies, including Lightning Labs.
- Named a 2013 KPCB Engineering Fellow.
- Earned Eagle Scout recognition in October 2010, as listed on his public LinkedIn profile.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Audius and Open Audio Protocol announced programmable music infrastructure aimed at coding agents and developers; Rumburg discussed widening access through Claude Code and Codex.
- **2025-07** — Audius updated its terms to incorporate API terms and an Open Music License, preserving artist-selected access restrictions.
- **2025-04** — Audius announced a global Downtown Music licensing deal covering recordings and publishing.
- **2024-09** — Audius opened direct artist payments publicly after a November 2023 beta, announcing a proposed 10% community treasury allocation.

## Links

- Website: https://roneil.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roneilr/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/roneil

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/roneil-rumburg
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09