Sonilo Secures $11M to Automate Video Soundtracks

The capital will support the expansion of compute infrastructure and the growth of Sonilo's music licensing library. At the center of the platform is the Sound World Model, an AI system that analyzes frame-by-frame visual data, including movement and emotional arcs, to generate audio that matches specific narrative beats. Unlike tools that rely solely on text prompts, Sonilo allows creators to upload raw footage to trigger automatic, synchronized sound generation.

CEO Shawn Song, a former multimodal AI lead at TikTok, heads a founding team that includes CTO Alex Yin and COO Keli Li. Their strategy focuses on integrating directly into the creator workflow while addressing the complex legal requirements of music production. To that end, the company has secured Shutterstock as an early licensing partner and is currently finalizing agreements with major music rights organizations to ensure its training datasets remain commercially viable.

Beyond basic music generation, the platform includes features such as AI-driven dubbing with lip-syncing capabilities. These tools target short-form video creators, developer platforms, and enterprise studios looking to localize content without traditional post-production overhead. A consumer-facing application is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter, extending the technology to individual creators.