Pocket FM Secures $103 Million to Fuel Global Expansion and Content Leadership

Pocket FM, a popular platform for audio entertainment, has closed a successful Series D funding round, securing $103 million. Lightspeed spearheaded the round, with participation from Stepstone Group. This latest investment brings Pocket FM’s total funding to date to a staggering $196.5 million.

The fresh capital will be strategically deployed to power Pocket FM’s aggressive expansion plans. The company intends to solidify its presence in the United States market while simultaneously venturing into new territories across Europe and Latin America during 2024.

Pocket FM: Building a Content Powerhouse in Regional Languages

Launched in 2018 by Rohan Nayak, Nishant S, and Prateek Dixit, Pocket FM has become a go-to platform for podcasts and other audio content in a variety of regional languages, including Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali. The company boasts surpassing $150 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and boasts a robust growth rate of 57% quarter-over-quarter.

“Our unwavering focus remains on acquiring unique and exclusive content,” declared Rohan Nayak, CEO and Co-Founder of Pocket FM. “This strategy will solidify our leadership position within this rapidly growing sector and allow us to develop a powerful intellectual property (IP) playbook.”

US Market Success and Sustainable Business Model

Pocket FM established its foothold in the US market during the fourth quarter of 2022. Remarkably, the platform’s revenue in this market has already surpassed the $100 million ARR mark, highlighting its swift acceptance.

“What truly sets Pocket FM apart is its unwavering commitment to building a sustainable and profitable business model,” commented Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed. “Their unique pricing strategy is a key factor in achieving this.”

Series C Funding and Pocket Novel Launch

Pocket FM’s previous funding round, a Series C round closed in March 2022, secured $65 million with Goodwater Capital, Naver, and existing investor Tanglin Venture Partners leading the way.

More recently, in February 2024, Pocket FM launched Pocket Novel, an online platform designed to bridge the gap between Indian writers and readers. This innovative platform aims to empower writers by offering them increased visibility, lucrative earning opportunities, and assistance with content distribution across various formats and categories.

While still in beta phase, Pocket Novel has already fostered a thriving community of over 150,000 writers. The company reports that some of the platform’s top performers are generating over $2,500 in monthly earnings.