Pocket FM, an emerging platform in India’s audio and podcast market, is reportedly in advanced discussions to secure additional funding to fuel its ongoing expansion.
According to an Entrackr report, Pocket FM, which competes with KukuFM, is in the final stages of talks to raise between $80-100 million in a new funding round. Notable investors, including the Lightspeed growth fund, are expected to participate.
It’s worth mentioning that Lightspeed is the existing investor in Pocket FM. In December 2021, Lightspeed led a $22.4 million Series B round, with participation from other investors, including Times Group and Tanglin Venture Partners.
Pocket FM’s previous funding
A mere four months ago, Pocket FM raised $16 million in debt from the US-based Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. The debt came more than a month after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and subsequently became part of First Citizens Bank.
“The debt funding we have secured gives us the resources to continue expanding our content library and build the largest audio series platform globally. We are excited to build on this momentum and bring our listeners even more engaging content,” Rohan Nayak said.
What are the offerings of Pocket FM?
Founded in 2018 by IIT-Kharagpur graduates Rohan Nayak, Nishanth Srinivas, and Prateek Dixit, Pocket FM provides a variety of long-form audio content, including audio shows, stories, novels, and podcasts.
After its successful launch in the US, the startup is now eyeing to expand its global presence to more countries.
According to a CrunchBase report, the audio series platform has raised over $109 million in funding till date from investors, including Naver, Goodwater Capital, The Times Group, and Tencent, among others.
How is Pocket FM’s competitor, KukuFM, performing in the audio content market?
In a related development last month, KukuFM, a rival of Pocket FM, raised $25 million to enhance its content ecosystem and deepen its content offerings in various Indian languages.
The funding round was led by The Fundamentum Partnership, backed by Nilekani, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with Vertex Ventures also participating.
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