Reportedly, the audio tech platform Pocket FM has secured a substantial $100 million (approximately INR 829 crore) in funding from the venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners. According to sources cited by Techcrunch, this fundraising event occurred recently, although the exact timing remains unspecified.
Furthermore, the startup is purportedly engaged in discussions with the sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to orchestrate another sizable funding round. This initiative aims to support Pocket FM’s expansion efforts, particularly in the United States. However, it’s emphasized that these discussions are in the preliminary stages, and the outcome remains uncertain.
Neither Pocket FM nor Lightspeed Venture Partners were immediately available for comment on queries from Inc42 regarding this development. Any updates on this story will be provided upon receiving a response from them.
This significant fundraising follows reports suggesting that Pocket FM has significantly increased its annualized revenue run rate (ARR) by 6-7 times year-on-year, reaching $160 million by the end of 2023. The company has also expressed aspirations to achieve a global ARR of $100 million by 2025.
Moreover, the report highlights the success of Pocket FM’s pay-as-you-go, non-subscription offering for its US clientele. The platform’s popularity is underscored by users spending more than 110 minutes daily on the platform.
Established in 2018 by Nishanth KS, Prateek Dixit, and Rohan Nayak, Pocket FM functions as an audio book platform offering diverse content in multiple languages and genres such as romance, self-help, and motivation. It operates on a freemium model, utilizing a micro-transaction system where users can purchase coins in local currency to access additional episodes beyond the free quota.
Prior to this latest funding round, Pocket FM had raised over $93 million through various funding rounds, including a $16 million debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank last year. Notably, this new funding round comes after reports in November suggested Pocket FM was nearing an $80 million round.
The startup boasts backing from prominent investors such as Tencent, Tanglin, Times Internet, Goodwater Capital, and Naver.
In FY23, Pocket FM’s India arm witnessed a 56% reduction in net losses to INR 75.7 crore, while its operating revenue surged by an impressive 663% to INR 129.7 crore from the previous year.
While the $100 million fundraising is yet to be officially announced, it is anticipated to provide a significant boost to the Indian startup ecosystem, which has faced a capital scarcity in recent years. Additionally, it is expected to revitalize the dwindling count of mega deals (funding rounds exceeding $100 million), which declined to pre-2018 levels in 2023. Last year, Indian startups recorded only 23 mega deals, compared to 60 in 2022 and 109 in 2021.
