[On Site] Aplayz: “Plays Music to Match Your Mood and Location”

Imagine how convenient it would be if the music changed according to your mood while driving or visiting a café. In the busy modern world, Aplayz has presented a solution by launching an affordable service that selects music for you.

On the 15th, Aplayz participated in Hyundai Motor Group’s first Open Innovation Tech Day event to showcase its technology and vision.

Aplayz began in 2021 as an in-house startup selected by Hyundai Motor Group. After about a year of early development, it officially launched its service in July last year and became an independent corporation in January this year.

Although a young company, Aplayz explained that it has grown rapidly since the second half of last year through pilot projects and various collaborations. Major partners include E-Land Eats, Yeokjeon FnC, and Kanbu Chicken. These companies needed in-store music but found it difficult to create playlists suited to each space. Aplayz was created as a solution to that challenge.

Aplayz’s services are mainly divided into three categories: ▲ for vehicles ▲ for stores ▲ and for multi-purpose buildings. As a startup born within Hyundai Motor Group, Aplayz first gained experience at Hyundai showrooms.

CEO Jeongjin Bae said, “Before the official launch, we operated a two-month beta program at Hyundai showrooms. During that time, we identified many product improvement points,” adding, “Thanks to that, customer satisfaction surveys conducted before the official launch showed very high results.”

Aplayz also operates a solution that allows multiple spaces in a building to play music individually from a single device. This solution was first applied at Hyundai Motor’s Yangjae headquarters in July last year. Currently, around 20 zones at the Yangjae headquarters are being operated under this system.

Bae explained, “The multi-purpose building service was not part of our initial plan, but it was realized based on feedback after applying it to the Yangjae headquarters,” adding, “Managing multiple devices for each space was inefficient, and solving that issue helped strengthen our product portfolio.”

He added, “The multi-space service has shown high satisfaction among corporate users, and we recently signed an MOU with Hyundai Engineering to expand the service to other business sites.”

Aplayz also maintains its identity as a startup that originated within Hyundai Motor Group. Its in-vehicle service provides playlists based not only on personal preferences but also on vehicle information and driving environments. As cars evolve from transportation spaces into living spaces, Aplayz aims to deliver greater value through music.

Aplayz plans to go beyond simple music curation and webcasting to evolve into a music service that collects and utilizes spatial data, always focusing on customer-friendly service.

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Reporter Kim Jaesung sorrykim@zdnet.co.kr

[[On-site] Aplayz: “Music that matches your mood and location”], ZDNet Korea, June 15, 2023