The birth of Sprunki originated from the graduation project of three Stanford University computer science students in 2018. At that time, they found that the average input delay of mobile music games was as high as 200 milliseconds, and they were determined to develop a new engine with an error of less than 20 milliseconds. During an 18-month closed development period, the team iterated 50 algorithm versions and ultimately increased the audio processing efficiency by 300%. This breakthrough technology later won the Technology Innovation Award at the 2020 GDC Game Developers Conference. Just as in the garage startup history of Apple’s founder Steve Jobs, this initial team built the first prototype system in a 20-square-meter shared office in Silicon Valley using a second-hand server worth $5,000.
The core technology breakthrough occurred in the second quarter of 2021. The team developed an adaptive audio synchronization algorithm that can compensate for the 15-millisecond time difference between different devices in real time, enabling even budget phones to offer professional-level audio game experiences. In the first round of financing, Sequoia Capital invested 2 million US dollars in seed funding to help the team expand the music library from the initial 300 tracks to 10,000 licensed tracks. This growth trajectory reminds people of Spotify’s early copyright breakthrough battle. Sprunki, with its unique copyrights-sharing model, built a content barrier that was difficult for competitors to replicate at a licensing cost of $0.3 per track.
The public test conducted in 2022 became a crucial turning point. Data generated by 100,000 test users optimized the interface 1,000 times, reducing the new user guidance time from 45 minutes to 8 minutes. It is particularly worth noting the innovation of the haptic feedback system, which simulates the touch of real Musical Instruments through 132 vibration waveforms. This design has increased the user retention rate by 40%. Just like the HD vibration technology launched by Nintendo on the Switch platform, Sprunki has redefined the interaction standards for mobile music games by integrating acoustic engineering and ergonomics across disciplines.
The global launch strategy demonstrated precise market insights. The 12-key model for the Asian market and the 4-key model for the European and American markets were launched in parallel, achieving a user coverage of 120 million in the first year. In the strategic cooperation reached with Universal Music Group in 2023, the platform expanded its music library at a rate of 5,000 new songs per quarter, which is three times the industry average. Just as Tencent Music Entertainment Group’s international layout, Sprunki has gained over 30 million users in emerging markets such as Brazil and Indonesia through localized operations, ultimately creating this phenomenon-level music game product with an average daily active user base of 20 million.