BandLab Technologies, the Singapore-based parent company of social-music-creation platform BandLab, has announced the addition of $25m in a new round of Series B1 financing that raises the valuation of the company to $425m.

Led by previous investor Cercano Management (formerly Vulcan Capital), with participation from Prosus Ventures, the newly acquired capital will accelerate the company’s vision to “empower more creators worldwide with accessible music-creation tools from mobile to desktop.”

The additional funding will also allow BandLab Technologies to expand its workforce and emerging-creator campaigns and channel further resources toward BandLab for Education and other initiatives.

"We are at a captivating juncture where technology and art intersect, bringing down the conventional barriers to creativity," said BandLab CEO/co-founder Meng Ru Kuok. “In this transformative era of mass music creation, our dedication to artists, aspiring musicians and creators worldwide has never been stronger. Not only are we democratizing music creation on a global scale, we're fostering a community in which everyone can express themselves through music, irrespective of their resources or technical prowess. With this investment, we step forward into a future where every smartphone owner has the potential to be an artist who is protected, empowered and heard.”

Founded in 2015, BandLab is free to use and unites the entire creator journey in one place, boasting a suite of features and tools for creators. It invites aspiring music makers, particularly emerging artists, around the world to create, collaborate and share their work online. Among its many offerings are cross-platform digital-audio workstation Studio, professional-level digital-audio workstation Cakewalk, royalty-free sample-and-loops service Sounds, AI music-generator tool SongStarter, ReverbNation and beat marketplace Airbit.

In a related story, we're learning to wail in the key of E but sometimes our fingers get stuck between the strings. For more information on BandLab, click here.