Hooky is a Los Angeles-based music-technology startup founded in 2023 that builds an "artist-first" voice AI marketplace. Its core premise is that AI voice cloning is inevitable, so the music industry needs a platform where artists deliberately license official models of their voices, retain control, and get paid, rather than having their likeness cloned without consent. Hooky enables creators to generate vocals using these sanctioned artist voice models for covers, demos, and original compositions.
The platform sits at the center of one of the most contentious debates in music: the legal and ethical status of AI-generated vocals. By making the artist the rights holder and the beneficiary, Hooky aims to convert a threat into a revenue stream. Artists onboard their voice, set the terms, and earn when fans and creators use their model, while Hooky handles the underlying voice-conversion technology and licensing rails. This consent-based model aligns Hooky with the broader "ethical AI" movement in music alongside initiatives like Fairly Trained.
Hooky launched publicly in June 2024 with a roster of recognizable collaborators, including British R&B hitmaker Jay Sean, Grammy-winning artist Eric Bellinger, and electronic duo Bonnie X Clyde, who lent their voices to the platform's initial models. These partnerships gave Hooky early credibility with both artists and the labels and managers who advise them, demonstrating that established musicians are willing to participate when the economics and control favor them.
Hooky has raised approximately $1.5 million, with investors including Acequia Capital and BlueYard Capital. As an early-stage company it operates in a fast-moving and legally uncertain space, competing with other artist-voice platforms such as Voice-Swap and the voice features of larger music-AI players. Its bet is that a marketplace built on consent, transparent licensing, and direct artist payouts can become the trusted infrastructure for AI vocals as the technology goes mainstream.