Photo Credit: Courtesy of ArtMaster
Prague-based startup ArtMaster raises $2.4 million in a seed round that will go into developing AI models to help people learn musical instruments.
Prague-based startup ArtMaster has raised $2.4 million in a seed round that included investors like Warner Music Group Chief Robert Kyncl, Beat Saber founder Jaroslav Beck, Moises, and Anchor founder Nir Zicherman. The funds will go towards developing AI models that help people learn musical instruments on their own, while the company plans to expand into other areas of AI-based learning.
Founded by Radim Vysoký and Michal Novák, ArtMaster is developed out of Vysoký’s personal frustration with learning to play the piano.
“I wanted to dive straight into music rather than endlessly drill individual techniques. To play what I like, not the classical repertoire,” says Vysoký, who first opened a standard music school in Prague but moved it online during the pandemic and began filming successful video lessons.
Now, the addition of AI enables ArtMaster to give personal feedback like a live teacher. The platform combines Guitar Hero-like gamification with real instrument tuition. Currently, the app is available in English and aimed at the global market, having received 500,000 downloads and over 100 million social media video views.
“Beginners often make six mistakes at once and don’t know which to start with. Even the best video can’t give that kind of help. So we built an app that structures practice and helps people reach their goals,” Vysoký explains.
ArtMaster is based on a monthly subscription model that costs $35 in the United States, or $150 for an annual plan. Since last October the number of paying subscribers has grown by 38%, while monthly recurring revenue increased by 39% in a month. By the end of the year, the company expects revenue of about $1.2 million.
Vysoký compares his company and the growing interest in self-education online to the success of Duolingo, which aims to make language learning straightforward and accessible by breaking it up into short daily lessons. ArtMaster is based on the same principle and says the most active 10% of its users spend an average of 36 minutes in lessons.
The company’s other investors include Factorial Capital, Reflex Capital, and Eliška Forel, a Google Gemini product manager.
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