Audio and video platform Kuku FM has raised $85 million in its Series D funding round, led by Granite Asia (formerly GGV Capital). Other investors in the round include Vertex Growth Fund, Krafton, IFC, Paramark, Tribe Capital India, and Bitkraft.
The $85 million deal includes a secondary component, but the exact split hasn’t been shared.
This deal is one of the largest in India’s niche audio and microdrama content sector, showing the growing interest in mobile-first platforms that cater to regional audiences.
The new funding will be used to increase content production, grow the community of creators, improve the platform’s technology, and reach more listeners across India.
“We don’t require a lot of external capital to grow our core business. Over the past two years, since the last fundraise, we have been operating at near breakeven level, and we expect to turn profitable in FY26,” Kuku, Founder and CEO, Lal Chand Bisu, said.
“We started producing content with Hindi and then launched Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. We will be launching more languages to strengthen our content library,” Bisu said. “We also have to spend more on the tech side, on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools, as that is one of the most important aspects for creators today,” he said, adding that about 70-80% of the content production on the platform happens through AI tools.
“Kuku represents a new wave of Indian consumer platforms built on deep local insight and mobile-first innovation.We’re excited to catalyse the team’s vision to become India’s leading storytelling platform — drawing on our experience partnering with consumer tech leaders across Asia to turn local creativity into global platforms,” said, Granite Asia, senior managing partner, Jenny Lee, said.
Founded in 2018 by Lal Chand Bisu, Vikas Goyal, and Vinod Kumar Meena, Kuku FM earns revenue through paid subscriptions for its audiobooks, serving both individual and business users.
The platform offers content across many genres, including business, self-help, personal finance, history, religion, entertainment, and fitness.
The platform provides audiobooks, stories, courses, and podcasts in several Indian languages, reaching audiences across India and around the world.
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