Sony Music Invests $16M in AI Licensing Platform Vermillio to Expand Commercial AI Opportunities
Sony Music Entertainment (SME) has led a $16 million Series A funding round for Vermillio, an AI licensing and monetization platform that specializes in authenticated AI solutions.
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Vermillio, founded five years ago, offers products like TraceID, a digital platform that helps rightsholders identify, license, and monitor generative AI content using their protected works. The company has already established a successful partnership with Sony Music, collaborating on projects like David Gilmour's AI-powered Metallic Spheres In Colour.
Key developments include:
- Additional funding from DNS Capital, a Chicago-based family office
- Partnership with WME for AI promotional initiatives
- Successful track record of managing 1.5 million fan creations in a Spider-Man AI-animation project with Sony Pictures
- Collaboration with Pocket.watch on a Ryan's World campaign enabling personalized merchandise
Dennis Kooker, SME president of global digital business, emphasized the company's commitment to protecting IP while exploring new commercial opportunities in AI. The partnership aims to develop trusted platforms that benefit technology innovators, artists, and rightsholders through secure AI solutions.
In related industry moves, Universal Music Group recently partnered with ProRata.ai, a content-attribution company that received a reported $25 million Series A funding. ProRata has launched Gist, an AI search engine currently in beta, with full release planned for 2025.
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