Suno
Also known as: Suno AI, Suno v5, Suno Studio
Suno, Inc. was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2023 by Michael Shulman and colleagues from Kensho (an AI analytics firm acquired by S&P Global). The company went public with a Microsoft Copilot plugin integration that exposed it to massive new audiences immediately. Suno is distinct from other AI music tools because it generates full-stack output: not a loop or an instrumental, but a finished song with sung vocals, lyrics, instrumentation, and mix, all in roughly 30 to 60 seconds. The current v5.5 model (2026) shows significant quality improvements in vocal clarity and genre accuracy.
Suno has a generous free tier (10 songs per day) and paid plans starting at $10 per month for 500 songs with commercial rights. The Pro and Premier tiers unlock the latest models, stem separation (splitting a track into individual vocal and instrument stems), MIDI export, and Suno Studio, a web-based generative audio workstation that functions like a digital audio workstation (DAW, the software producers use to make music) but with AI-native features. The company raised $250 million in a Series C at a $2.45 billion valuation in November 2025.
Copyright has been a live issue for Suno since its RIAA lawsuit in June 2024. The company settled with Warner Music Group in November 2025 for $500 million, with WMG gaining oversight of AI-generated content and Suno gaining the ability to train on Warner's catalog with opt-in artist participation. Builders using Suno commercially should verify current licensing terms before shipping, as the legal landscape around AI-generated music is still evolving.