ZD Ventures (ZDVC), a Korean venture capital firm specializing in early-stage startups, has announced a pre-seed investment in Wavv, a U.S.-based startup innovating AI music generation technology. The investment amount remains undisclosed.

Wavv, marking ZDVC’s first global investment from its inaugural fund, provides AI-driven music creation and intellectual property protection solutions targeting the advertising, gaming, media, and entertainment industries.

Unlike traditional AI music models that rely on audio samples, Wavv leverages its MIDI-based AI model, “Musica,” which significantly reduces copyright infringement risks. This is a key distinguishing feature.

The MIDI-based approach records actual performance data, enabling direct composition generation, which frees it from copyright concerns. Wavv also operates a separate SaaS platform, allowing companies across industries like advertising, gaming, and social media to use copyright-free music without worry.

Wavv’s founder, Ivan Linn, a Yale graduate, brings over 20 years of expertise from the gaming and entertainment sectors. He has served as music director for globally renowned games like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Assassin’s Creed, and led orchestral projects. Notably, his Assassin’s Creed Symphony World Tour won a Grammy Award in 2023.

Additionally, Wavv has collaborated with major global entities like NASA and OpenAI. For NASA, it created music for an annular eclipse project using Musica, while with OpenAI, it’s researching the integration of voice synthesis and multimodal AI systems with Wavv’s technology. The company has also worked with prominent artists like The Chainsmokers and Grimes, proving AI music’s global potential.

With this investment, Wavv plans to increase its B2B SaaS market share and strengthen global partnerships. Looking ahead, it aims to enter the B2C market, building a platform for individual creators to easily utilize AI-generated music.

Ha-kyung Kim, CEO of ZDVC, said, “Wavv’s innovative MIDI-based AI music generation could be a game-changer for the music industry. ZDVC will continue expanding investments in groundbreaking global startups with explosive growth potential.”