Pocket FM Secures $103M for Global Growth in Series D Funding

Pocket FM, an India-based audio entertainment platform, has successfully raised $103 million in a Series D funding round, which was led by Lightspeed Ventures and included participation from Stepstone Group. This latest investment has nearly doubled the company's valuation to approximately $750 million, a significant increase from its previous valuation of $390 million. The funding will be used to bolster Pocket FM's expansion efforts into the US market, where it has already established a presence, as well as to support its entry into European and Latin American markets.

With over 100,000 hours of content that includes more than 2,000 exclusive audio series and over 400,000 episodes, Pocket FM has become a leader in personalized audio entertainment. The platform, which launched in 2018, has seen rapid growth, with a reported annualized revenue run rate (ARR) exceeding $150 million, and a quarter-over-quarter revenue growth of 57%. The company plans to leverage this capital infusion to create a strong intellectual property playbook for its writers and further develop its content library.

Additionally, Pocket FM aims to enhance its product offerings through investments in artificial intelligence, focusing on automation, content curation, production, and distribution. A portion of the funding, $40 million, is designated for its Wattpad-like writing platform, Pocket Novel, which provides a space for writers and readers, with over 250,000 writers already onboard. The company's goal is to position itself as the "Netflix for audio," offering serialized audio content and audiobooks through various business models, including microtransactions and advertising, as well as a pay-to-unlock strategy similar to that of Audible. With the conclusion of this funding round, Pocket FM's total funding to date amounts to $196.5 million.