AI music platform among 10 start-ups supported by HP under new initiative

SINGAPORE – By entering a simple prompt, a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform is able to create unique, customised songs within seconds.

Similar to how ChatGPT is able to generate text, speech and images, Wubble is able to almost instantaneously produce music across more than 60 genres – such as rock, classical and K-pop – with vocals in 17 languages, including Japanese, Hindi and French.

To do so, users need only submit a prompt in the form of text, images, audio, video or a document, said Wubble co-founder and chief product officer Shaad Sufi.

For example, inputting a photo of a volcano produced a three-minute song with a male vocalist singing about “fiery lights” over soaring orchestral and hard rock instrumentals.

Noting the music produced can be used to soundtrack social media content or video games, Wubble co-founder and chief executive Anand Roy said the process of licensing music can often be a laborious, costly process for companies.

“We become a very compelling, cheaper, faster solution for these businesses to create royalty-free, customised music,” he told The Straits Times.

The Singapore-based firm is one of 10 supported by tech giant HP under Garage 2.0, a new initiative which sees the tech giant lend its engineering expertise and business insights to help AI start-ups grow globally.

This initial cohort was announced at an event at HP’s offices in Depot Close on Oct 6.

Others under the initiative include Jan.ai, an open-source AI assistant that can operate entirely offline on individual devices, and AdaptiveX, which enables businesses to use AI-generated voices for customer support and appointment bookings.

Describing the platform as ethical, Mr Roy said Wubble’s AI model is trained on royalty-free music to avoid infringing on the rights of artistes.

“Our team is made up entirely of musicians, both former and current, so it was really important to us that we build a tech platform that is an ally to the creative ecosystem,” he said.

The Garage 2.0 initiative is named for the HP Garage in Palo Alto, California, where founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard started the company in 1939 and worked on its first products.

The one-car garage is often regarded as the birthplace of Silicon Valley.

The event for the announcement of the initial cohort on Oct 6 also marked the 55th year of operations in Singapore for HP, which in 1970 became one of the first tech multinationals to set up shop in the Republic.

The aim is to develop an “ecosystem of applications” which are tailored to solve specific problems, said HP managing director for Singapore Koh Kong Meng.

These companies are funded from early-stage venture capital firm Antler – which is headquartered in Singapore – with support from TiE, a global non-profit that supports entrepreneurs, he added.

When asked, HP declined to say how much funding the start-ups received.

These start-ups will be able to use collaborative workspaces at HP’s Singapore campus to test and refine their innovations, with Antler also establishing an office at the campus to enhance collaboration.

“By partnering with HP and the broader ecosystem through Garage 2.0, we are creating an innovation hub where we fuel ambition with resources – capital, mentorship, and a global network of investors, operators, and partners,” said Antler co-founder and managing partner for Asia Jussi Salovaara.

Garage 2.0 is supported by the Economic Development Board, with HP also working with others including tech giants Nvidia and Intel, as well as government agencies such as the Infocomm Media Development Authority and Enterprise Singapore.

“The Garage 2.0 programme demonstrates how global companies in Singapore can partner with our vibrant business and tech ecosystem to drive and scale innovation,” said EDB vice-president and head of technology hardware and equipment Lionel Lim.

“HP has been a strong partner to Singapore over the past five decades and we welcome their efforts to help promising start-ups flourish,” he added.

While Garage 2.0 may evolve in the future, the aim is to bring as many start-ups as possible into the fold, said Mr Koh, adding that he does not currently foresee an end to the initiative.

“What we are very focused on is to get on board as many companies as we can, so that we can work with them, experiment with them, and see what happens,” he said.