Audioboo opens its first US office in San Francisco, as its big Stateside push begins at Sundance

Social audio platform Audioboo has announced that it’s finally branching out from the UK with the launch of its first US office, opening in San Francisco.

Launched in March 2009, Audioboo allows users to record a near-unlimited quota of audio snippets, which they can share with friends or broadcast to the world. They can also add images, titles and tags and upload it to Audioboo.fm, complete with biographical and geographical information on where and when it was recorded.

Back in September 2011 it rolled out a new freemium subscription model, incorporating a paid-for service for podcasters, and late last year Audioboo founder Mark Rock made way for a new CEO.

Now, in addition to the new San Francisco office, the company has lured Cynthia Francis, former CEO of Reality Digital, as US Managing Director. Francis will lead a big Stateside push by heading a growing team in the US.

The company launches in the US with coverage of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, posting reviews and interviews with filmmakers, producers, buyers and audience members from Park City, Utah.

Just before Christmas, Audioboo rolled out a redesign featuring ‘BooBoards’ to create individually-curated audio playlists, as it geared up for its big international offensive.

“Audioboo had a phenomenal year in 2012, and we have big plans for the year ahead – the first of which is to work more actively with US users and organizations to take this successful British start-up to the next level,” says Francis.

Audioboo users include The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Sky News Radio, Al Jazeera, The FT, British Library, Royal Opera House and the British Army. And early last year, we interviewed founder and former CEO Mark Rock about his ‘chaotic English startup’, and how Stephen Fry became its biggest champion.