Apple has confirmed its rumoured acquisition of London-based tech company Shazam.
The tech giant hasn’t disclosed the terms of the acquisition, but reports have previously pegged the price at £300m ($395m).
Shazam, set up 18 years ago, was once valued at $1bn. The firm raised $143.5m to date and backers include Kleiner Perkins and DN Capital.
Apple said in a statement: “We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. Today, it’s used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, across multiple platforms.
“Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement,” it added.
Apple is expected to release its smart speaker, the HomePod, over the coming months and an integration with Shazham’s proprietary technology would certainly make sense if it wants to compete with the likes of Google and Amazon.