Pocket FM raises $22.4 million in Series B funding round

The company is building a robust ecosystem for audio OTT with Pocket FM and its largest community of content creators

Audio OTT app Pocket FM has raised capital worth $22.4 million in Series B funding round. Led by Lightspeed, the round saw participation from a clutch of investors including Times Group and first-time investor in the company, Tanglin Venture Partners. The fresh capital will be utilised to scale up the operations, build the largest community of content creators, intensify its presence across geographies, invest in technology for better recommendations, and strengthen the overall audio OTT category globally.

The company is building a robust ecosystem for audio OTT with Pocket FM and its largest community of content creators, Rohan Nayak, co-founder and CEO, Pocket FM, said. “We are at a juncture where both Pocket FM and the overall audio OTT space are witnessing exponential growth. Audio storytelling has now become a mainstream content format for entertainment and our mission is to build Pocket FM as a global entertainment service provider. We are grateful to our investors for their continued faith and support in our vision and are very optimistic about the future,” he added.

Founded in 2018, Pocket FM is now amongst the top OTT players in India that offers over 100,000 hours of enriching long-format content. Within three years, it has registered over 40 million downloads, three billion monthly listening minutes, and more than 110 minutes being spent by users daily on the app. It is amongst the top-ranking apps in the music and audio category on the Play Store. The company intends to surpass 100 million users in next six months.

Commenting on the investment, Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed, said, “We are excited to back the Pocket FM team as they scale up to build the future of audio content and are looking forward to the next phase of this incredible journey. The team has constantly innovated ahead of the curve, with multiple language offerings for their short and long form audio content and in becoming the go-to destination for audio content creators”.

For Sankalp Gupta, partner, Tanglin Venture Partners, Pocket FM is a pioneer in the audio OTT space in India, and their approach towards democratising audio content creation is a game-changer. “The company’s stellar growth trajectory, user engagement, and retention are a testament to the consumer’s love for Pocket FM’s product,” he highlighted.

According to Abhishek Mitra Gupta, managing partner, TVentures (backed by Times Group), audio is emerging as one of the preferred mediums to consume content. “Not only have they done well in India, they are also spreading their wings globally. We strongly believe that Pocket FM will continue to lead this segment globally. We are excited to be a part of this journey,” he stated.

Since its inception, Pocket FM has worked towards democratising audio creation by discovering, nurturing, and promoting new talent. Today, the platform works with a thriving community of over 17,000 PUGC writers and voice artists. Before this round, Pocket FM had raised $650,000 in seed funding round and $ 5.6 million in Series A funding round.

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