Audio entertainment platform, Pocket FM has raised $103 million in Series D funding, the company said in a statement. The round was led by Lightspeed with participation from Stepstone Group.
With the latest capital infusion in the start-up its total funding reached at $196.5 million.
The new funding will strengthen Pocket FM's push into the U.S. market and also support global expansion as the company plans to expand into Europe and LATAM markets in 2024. The company will continue to strengthen its exclusive content library and create a strong IP playbook by providing the writer community a stage to share their unique and unheard stories, it said.
Since launching in 2018, Pocket FM has been driving serialised audio storytelling, and has established itself as the major player in audio entertainment.
“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, CEO and Co-Founder of Pocket FM. "Our robust content library of audio series and a strong consumption behavior on the platform is shaping the future 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.”
The company has surpassed $150 million ARR, and is growing at 57 per cent QoQ. It has clocked over 20 million transactions in 2023. Globally, listeners spend an average of over 115 minutes daily. In 2023 alone, the platform witnessed over 75 billion minutes of streaming worldwide.
The company announced its U.S. entry in Q4 of 2022 and its revenue has surpassed $100 million ARR in the U.S. market. U.S. audiences are the most engaged on the platform globally, spending over 135 minutes daily. The platform has approximately 10 million registered users in the U.S.
