The audio entertainment platform Pocket FM, situated in India, revealed on Wednesday that it has secured $103 million in Series D funding. StepStone Group joined Lightspeed in leading the round, according to a statement from Pocket FM.
As per the release, the additional money would fortify Pocket FM’s efforts to penetrate the U.S. market and facilitate its worldwide growth trajectory, with aspirations to enter the European and Latin American (LATAM) markets by 2024.
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By offering the writer community a platform to share their distinctive and untold stories, the company will keep building its exclusive content library and developing a strong intellectual property strategy.
Additionally, Pocket FM has announced a strategy for automation, content selection, creation, and distribution driven by generative artificial intelligence (AI).
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The startup intends to develop AI-powered tailored suggestions that improve the user experience overall and employ generative AI to scale its supply of entertainment material.
“We identified an unexplored space in the entertainment industry driven by an increasing demand for audio fiction and crafted a playbook to address this opportunity across every key market,” said Rohan Nayak, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Pocket FM.
He claims that the company’s extensive library of audio series and active platform users are influencing the direction of entertainment.
“Our focus remains on tapping into unique and exclusive stories to solidify our leadership in this emerging category and create a strong IP playbook,
“This latest funding validates our vision and the possibilities we bring to disrupt the industry,” he added.
It has been observed that Pocket FM saw a void in the entertainment industry and filled it by emphasizing distinctive and creative storytelling across a variety of genres, helping to establish audio series as a brand-new entertainment genre.
The company, which debuted in 2018, has been leading serialized audio storytelling and has made a name for itself in customized audio entertainment.
According to the corporation, its audio series are upending the entertainment industry and it is creating a playbook that will define entertainment in the future. As a pioneer in the entertainment industry, Pocket FM claimed to have amassed the greatest collection of original audio programming.
The company claims that with over 135 minutes spent on the site every day, American consumers are the most engaged on the platform worldwide. There are almost 10 million registered users in the United States alone.
“What sets Pocket FM apart is its vision to set up a sustainable and profitable business, backed by its unique pricing strategy,” said Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed. “The firm emerges as a great reference for the entertainment landscape, with its capability to demonstrate strong unit economics, “They are not just building a new category but democratizing the entertainment landscape with a tech-driven approach,” he added.
About Pocket FM
Pocket FM offers audio content, such as podcasts, audiobooks, and short stories. This Indian app provides a large selection of audio content in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Marathi, among other languages.
