Audio OTT platform Pocket FM raised $16 million in debt funding from Silicon Valley Bank. The new funding will be used to expand its audio library, strengthen its creator community, and increase revenue.
Chris Cameron, senior vice president at Silicon Valley Bank, commented on the investment in Pocket FM, saying that the firm has an original concept of storytelling that is helping it secure a position as a mainstream OTT platform.
Anurag Sharma, vice president- Finance at Pocket FM, added that the business is grateful to the bank for believing in its growth metrics.
Pocket FM, founded in 2018 by Nishanth KS, Prateek Dixit, and Rohan Nayak, surpassed a $25 million annualised revenue run-rate (ARR) last year and plans to reach a $100 million ARR by 2023.
According to the corporation, it has over 80 million listeners who spend an average of 110 minutes each day listening to Pocket FM’s content. Pocket FM streamed more than 45 billion minutes in 2022. In addition to English, the startup serves to the Indian population in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, and Marathi.
Pocket FM received a total investment of $93.5 million last year from investors including Lightspeed, Goodwater Capital, Tanglin Venture Partners, Naver, Times Internet, Tencent, and others. This new debt finance brings the total amount raised to $109.5 million.
