OTT app Pocket FM raises $22.4 mn led by Lightspeed

Pocket FM, a leading OTT app has announced that it has raised $22.4 million in a Series B funding round led by Lightspeed, which also saw the participation of Times Group and first-time investor in the company, Tanglin Venture Partners. The fresh capital will be utilised to scale up the operations, build the largest community of content creators, intensify its presence across geographies, invest in technology for better recommendations and strengthen the overall audio OTT category globally.

Founded in 2018, Pocket FM claims to be one of the largest OTT players in India that offers more than 100,000 hours of long-format content. Within three years, the company says that it has registered over 40 million downloads, 3 billion monthly listening minutes, and more than 110 minutes being spent by users daily on the app. It is amongst the top-ranking apps in the music & audio category on Play Store. The company intends to surpass 100 million users in the next six months.

“We are building a robust ecosystem for audio OTT with Pocket FM and its largest community of content creators. We are at a juncture where both Pocket FM and the overall audio OTT space are witnessing exponential growth. Audio storytelling has now become a mainstream content format for entertainment and our mission is to build Pocket FM as a global entertainment service provider. We are grateful to our investors for their continued faith and support in our vision and are very optimistic about the future,” Rohan Nayak, co-founder and CEO, Pocket FM said.                                             

Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed, said that the investment firm is excited to back the Pocket FM team as they scale up to build the future of audio content and are looking forward to the next phase of this incredible journey. “The team has constantly innovated ahead of the curve, with multiple language offerings for their short and long form audio content and in becoming the go-to destination for audio content creators,” Kumar added.