music-streaming
(4)
QSIC
QSIC is an in-store audio platform that combines curated music, point-of-sale data and generative AI to help retailers and brands turn store audio into a measurable retail media channel. Its technology powers thousands of stores across three continents, pairing store-specific playlists with dynamically created, localized audio ads and closed-loop attribution so advertisers can tie in-store messaging back to sales.
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.
Matthew Elsley
Matthew Elsley is co-founder and CEO of QSIC, an AI-driven in-store audio and retail media platform used by 7-Eleven, McDonald's, Coles Express and other chains across three continents. Founded in Melbourne in 2012 with schoolfriend Nick Larkins, QSIC bootstrapped for years before raising a $4M Series A from Carthona Capital and a $25M Series B led by Hedosophia in January 2025. Elsley relocated to Dallas to run North American growth as QSIC rolled out Gulp Radio to 12,000 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes stores.
Audius
Audius is a decentralized music streaming and discovery platform that lets artists upload, share, and monetize tracks directly to fans without traditional gatekeepers. Built on Solana and Ethereum and powered by the AUDIO token, the platform runs on a network of community-operated content and discovery nodes - giving creators ownership of their catalogs and a direct line to listeners.