Audio OTT Startup Pocket FM Bags $65 Million

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Pocket FM

Gurugram-based audio over-the-top (OTT) platform Pocket FM has raised $65 Million in a Series C funding round led by Goodwater Capital, Naver, and Tanglin Venture Partners, an existing investor.

The startup will use the funding for the expansion of the following things:

  • introduce AI capabilities to the app, 
  • get into different languages,
  • strengthen its leadership level, and 
  • stand up its existing audio creator community.

Pocket FM was founded in 2018; the company claims to offer 100,000+ hours of enriching content, audio shows, stories, novels, and podcasts. FM can be heard in audio content in eight languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla, English, Kannada, and Marathi). 

Pocket FM also guarantees to have over 50 million users. Previously, Pocket FM had raised $28.6 from its existing marquee investors like 

  • Lightspeed, 
  • Tencent, 
  • Times Group, and 
  • Tanglin Venture Partners. 

Executive opinion:

Nishanth KS, Co-founder, and COO, Pocket FM, said, “In addition to audio entertainment, we saw 12X growth in consumption of self-help books audio courses. Users are looking for high-quality knowledge content to upskill themselves. With this investment, we are looking to grow our creator community further, be the biggest audio destination for entertainment and knowledge, and target five million paying users in the next 12 months.” 

Rohan Nayak, Co-founder, and CEO, Pocket FM said, “Audio consumption has seen exponential growth over the last year, and we are on a mission to build the largest audio OTT platform.

Scott Shiao, Director, Investment at Goodwater Capital, added, “Pocket FM empowers audio creators around the world in crafting the best long-form audio content, from writing to voice acting, while also providing a channel for consumers to find and discover that content. We look forward to helping Pocket FM to continue to grow its platform.”

YongJung (YJ) Park, Investment Director at NAVER Corporation, said, "Pocket FM has demonstrated unbelievable growth since its launch and has amazing momentum, quickly becoming a leader in the space of audio OTT platforms. With its creator-first platform, Pocket FM is poised to lead this wave of growth in the audio OTT space and fuel the next generation of entertainment experiences.”

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