The VC firm behind the iFund is on board for global expansion.
Music discovery service Shazam has announced that it has added 15 million users since February, taking its total past the 50 million mark. 10 million of that total are on iPhone alone.
The latter stat was presumably a factor in Shazam's other announcement today, that it's taken a strategic investment from VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers - the company behind the $100 million iFund.
The undisclosed investment in Shazam comes from the iFund, which was set up to invest in iPhone app startups. Shazam is the most established company that the iFund has invested in - other recipients include Ngmoco and Booyah.
"Shazam is profitable and experiencing sustained acceleration in its growth rate," says CEO Andrew Fisher.
"We are delighted to be partnering with KPCB, who join our existing investors Acacia Capital and DN Capital and will help us execute against the significant market opportunity ahead."
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News that Shazam is profitable shows its steady progress. The company's most recent set of accounts, covering the year ending on 30th June 2008, reported a loss after taxation of £1.33 million - down from £2.53 million the previous year.
But since then, Shazam has benefited from the launch of iPhone's App Store and its rivals, vastly expanding its userbase.
KPCB partner Matt Murphy tells the New York Times that Shazam will launch new recommendations and sharing features, as well as video content, and ticket and merchandise sales through partnerships with other companies.
Meanwhile, yesterday Shazam announced a Europe-wide deal with 4th Screen Advertising to serve targeted ads to its users, based on their music tastes.
