Echodio

Echodio operated as a software company that provided a solution for music library management, a notable precursor to later cloud-based services from major technology firms. The company was established in 2008 by founders Niall Smart, Cormac Driver, and Vincent Glennon. Niall Smart later went on to found other companies, including VTS and Hightower.

The firm's core product was a software platform designed to address the fragmented nature of personal music collections in the pre-cloud era. It enabled users to synchronize their iTunes music libraries, including metadata such as ratings and play counts, across multiple Mac computers. The service also offered features for securely backing up a user's music library and streaming it to different media centers, effectively allowing access to a centralized collection from various devices.

The company's trajectory included participation in the Y Combinator Winter 2009 accelerator program. Following its time in the accelerator, Echodio secured $125,000 in a seed funding round from Y Combinator in 2009. The company's journey as an independent entity was short-lived; it was acqui-hired by RealNetworks in August 2009, indicating the strategic value of its technology and team to an established player in the digital media space.

Keywords: music synchronization, iTunes library sync, music streaming, music backup, Y Combinator, RealNetworks, Niall Smart, digital media, music management software, cloud music precursor, music library backup, cross-device sync, music metadata, play counts sync, ratings sync, Mac music software