Pocket FM introduces online novel reading platform Pocket Novel, pledges $40 million investment
The Bengaluru-based startup plans to invest $40 million in this product, aiming for a $100 million annualised revenue run rate by 2025.
- Feb 22, 2024,
- Updated Feb 22, 2024 6:09 PM IST
Pocket FM recently announced the launch of its online novel reading platform, Pocket Novel. The move comes after a year-long beta phase, during which the company claims to have attracted over 150,000 writers.
The Bengaluru-based startup plans to invest $40 million in this product, aiming for a $100 million annualised revenue run rate by 2025.
In 2023, the platform saw over 1 million transactions for purchasing novels or chapters. Pocket FM will compete with Pratilipi, a digital storytelling platform.
Pocket FM co-founder Rohan Nayak said the company will use learnings from its audio series growth to develop a dynamic entertainment ecosystem.
Rohan Nayak, Co-founder and CEO, Pocket Novel said, “We are building an ecosystem that shapes the essence of entertainment which specializes in discovering and distributing unique and unheard stories. These are adaptable across formats and geographies, creating a robust model with millions of audiences. Leveraging our learnings from our successful audio series trajectory, we remain steadfast in our commitment to cultivating a dynamic entertainment ecosystem. Our IP creation engine is designed to produce and disseminate content across diverse categories and brings disruption in the entertainment landscape.”
The company aims to build a community of 1 million writers and strengthen its library to 2 million novels by 2025. In the beta phase, the company reported that more than 2 percent of novels received over 500,000 reads, with over 5 percent surpassing 100,000 reads.
Pocket FM reported that users spent over 100 minutes daily reading novels on its platform during the testing phase. The most popular genres included Romance, Drama, Suspense, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi.
Established in 2018 by Nayak, Prateek Dixit, and Nishanth Srinivas, Pocket FM asserts that it offers more than 100,000 hours of extended audio content across diverse genres like romance, horror, thriller, sci-fi, fiction, and mythology. This content is available in English and multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, and Marathi.
The company states a global audience of over 130 million listeners, spending an average of more than 115 minutes daily on the platform. In December, Pocket FM reported over 20 million transactions in 2023, concluding the year with 2.5 million monthly transactions. The audio content witnessed streaming for over 75 billion minutes during the year, with an average monthly streaming of over 6 billion minutes.
Among its investors, Pocket FM includes Lightspeed, Tencent, Tanglin Venture Partners, Goodwater Capital, and South Korean internet giant Naver. The company has accumulated a total of $109.5 million in funding, comprising a $16 million debt financing in May 2023 and a $65 million funding round in March 2022.
Also Read: Smartworks leases 1 lakh sq ft office space in Gurugram, opens 1,000-seater centre
Pocket FM recently announced the launch of its online novel reading platform, Pocket Novel. The move comes after a year-long beta phase, during which the company claims to have attracted over 150,000 writers.
The Bengaluru-based startup plans to invest $40 million in this product, aiming for a $100 million annualised revenue run rate by 2025.
In 2023, the platform saw over 1 million transactions for purchasing novels or chapters. Pocket FM will compete with Pratilipi, a digital storytelling platform.
Pocket FM co-founder Rohan Nayak said the company will use learnings from its audio series growth to develop a dynamic entertainment ecosystem.
Rohan Nayak, Co-founder and CEO, Pocket Novel said, “We are building an ecosystem that shapes the essence of entertainment which specializes in discovering and distributing unique and unheard stories. These are adaptable across formats and geographies, creating a robust model with millions of audiences. Leveraging our learnings from our successful audio series trajectory, we remain steadfast in our commitment to cultivating a dynamic entertainment ecosystem. Our IP creation engine is designed to produce and disseminate content across diverse categories and brings disruption in the entertainment landscape.”
The company aims to build a community of 1 million writers and strengthen its library to 2 million novels by 2025. In the beta phase, the company reported that more than 2 percent of novels received over 500,000 reads, with over 5 percent surpassing 100,000 reads.
Pocket FM reported that users spent over 100 minutes daily reading novels on its platform during the testing phase. The most popular genres included Romance, Drama, Suspense, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi.
Established in 2018 by Nayak, Prateek Dixit, and Nishanth Srinivas, Pocket FM asserts that it offers more than 100,000 hours of extended audio content across diverse genres like romance, horror, thriller, sci-fi, fiction, and mythology. This content is available in English and multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, and Marathi.
The company states a global audience of over 130 million listeners, spending an average of more than 115 minutes daily on the platform. In December, Pocket FM reported over 20 million transactions in 2023, concluding the year with 2.5 million monthly transactions. The audio content witnessed streaming for over 75 billion minutes during the year, with an average monthly streaming of over 6 billion minutes.
Among its investors, Pocket FM includes Lightspeed, Tencent, Tanglin Venture Partners, Goodwater Capital, and South Korean internet giant Naver. The company has accumulated a total of $109.5 million in funding, comprising a $16 million debt financing in May 2023 and a $65 million funding round in March 2022.
Also Read: Smartworks leases 1 lakh sq ft office space in Gurugram, opens 1,000-seater centre