Gurugram-based Pocket FM, which runs an eponymous audioshows platform, has secured Series C funding of Rs 491 crore ($65 million) led by the US-based venture capital fund Goodwater Capital and South Korean internet conglomerate Naver Corporation.
The round also saw participation from the company’s existing investor Tanglin Venture Partners.
Pocket FM said that the fresh infusion will be primarily used to expand into new languages, invest in artificial intelligence capabilities and build the largest audio creator community.
"This is a validation of our market leadership and trust in our execution capabilities. Audio consumption has seen exponential growth over the last year, and we are on a mission to build the largest audio OTT platform," said Rohan Nayak, Co-Founder and CEO at Pocket FM.
Founded by IIT-Kharagpur graduates Nayak and Nishanth Srinivas, Pocket FM is an online marketplace for audioshows and podcasts.
Operated by Delhi-based Pocket Fm Pvt Ltd, it claims to be offering over one lakh hours of enriching long-format content.
It offers premium audio content in 8 languages- Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla, English, Kannada and Marathi.
Within three years of its inception, the firm is said to have registered over 50 million downloads, 3 billion monthly listening minutes, and more than 110 minutes being spent by users daily on the app. "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, " said Scott Shiao, Investment Director at Goodwater Capital.
"Pocket FM has demonstrated unbelievable growth since its launch and has amazing momentum, quickly becoming a leader in the space of audio OTT platform. 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, "said YongJung (YJ) Park, Investment Director at Naver Corporation.
Prior to this, Pocket FM had raised $28.6 million in previous rounds, from existing marquee investors like Lightspeed, Tencent, Times Group and Tanglin Venture Partners.
In February 2020, Kuku FM, which operates in the same space as Pocket FM, raised $5.5 million in a Series A round led by venture capital firm Vertex Ventures, an arm of Singapore headquartered Temasek Holdings.
In October 2019, audio streaming platform Dose FM was acquired by tax filing and investment platform ClearTax to help the latter build mobile-focused products for small businesses.
