India’s Kuku Raises $85M Amid Mobile Content Wars

Kuku, one of India’s fastest growing mobile content platforms, just raised a massive $85 million in funding as competition heats up in the country’s digital entertainment space. The funds  came through a Series C funding round led by Granite Asia, formerly known as GGV Capital, with several other big investors joining in. This new investment has pushed Kuku’s value to around $500 million, more than double what it was worth during its last funding round back in 2023.

The timing of this fundraise shows how serious the battle for India’s mobile content market has become. With over 700 million smartphone users in the country and internet data costing less than a cup of tea, millions of Indians are hungry for digital content they can watch and listen to on their phones. Companies are racing to capture this massive audience, and Kuku is betting big that it can become the leading platform for storytelling in India and beyond.

Founded back in 2018, Kuku started out as an audiobook platform called Kuku FM. The company gained popularity by offering audio content in Hindi and other regional languages, which many Indians prefer over English. People loved being able to listen to stories, educational content, spiritual teachings, and news in their own language while commuting, doing chores, or relaxing at home. It was a simple idea that filled a real need in the market.

Since those early days, Kuku has grown far beyond just audiobooks. The platform now runs two main services. Kuku FM continues to focus on audio content like audiobooks, podcasts, and shows. Meanwhile, Kuku TV presents long stories as short video episodes designed specifically for watching on mobile phones in a vertical format. Both platforms offer content in more than eight Indian languages, making them accessible to people across different states and regions of the country.

The numbers show just how much Kuku has grown recently. The company now has over 10 million paid subscribers, a huge jump from just two million subscribers when it raised money in 2023. The platform has been downloaded more than 229 million times across both apps. Even more impressive, Kuku managed to double the average amount of money each user spends on the platform. About 80 percent of these paying subscribers come from smaller towns and cities outside the major metros, proving that regional content really connects with audiences.

One of the hottest trends Kuku is jumping on is something called microdramas. These are short, serialized video stories made specifically for mobile viewing. Each episode is bite sized so people can watch them quickly during breaks or while on the go. The format has become incredibly popular across Indian startups, and even global companies like Meta have started creating microdramas aimed at younger audiences in India. Kuku sees this as a major growth opportunity and is investing heavily in producing more of this type of content.

The fresh $85 million will be used for several important things. A big chunk of the money is going toward improving Kuku’s technology, especially its use of artificial intelligence and data systems. The company has built its own AI studio that helps create content faster and cheaper. These AI tools handle everything from coming up with ideas and writing scripts to translating content into multiple languages and creating advertisements. By speeding up production and cutting costs, Kuku can pump out more shows and reach more people without breaking the bank.

Kuku also plans to hire more people, expanding its current team of 150 employees. The company needs more talent in both technology and content creation as it scales up operations. Building partnerships with content creators is another priority. Kuku wants to bring famous actors and television personalities onto the platform to create shows that will attract millions of viewers. The company believes celebrity driven content will help it stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

While Kuku is growing fast in India, the company has global ambitions too. It’s already testing its services in the Middle East and the United States. The plan is to launch properly in the American market sometime in 2026. Expanding internationally makes sense because India’s large diaspora communities living abroad often crave content in their native languages. Plus, if Kuku can crack the formula for mobile content in India, that playbook might work in other developing markets with similar smartphone and data trends.

Competition in this space is fierce. Kuku’s main rival is a company called Pocket FM, which operates a similar platform focused on audio content. The two companies have been locked in legal battles, with Pocket FM filing multiple copyright infringement lawsuits against Kuku. Kuku’s founder and CEO Lal Chand Bisu told reporters that Pocket FM files these lawsuits every time Kuku raises money, suggesting it’s more about distracting investors than actual copyright problems. To address these concerns, Kuku has a dedicated team that manually checks all uploaded content for copyright violations and is building better technology to automatically detect when creators might be using someone else’s work.

Interestingly, while Kuku has more downloads than Pocket FM, it makes significantly less money from in-app purchases. Data shows that most of Kuku’s users and revenue come from India, whereas Pocket FM generates most of its downloads from India but earns almost all its money from users outside the country, particularly in the United States.

The broader Indian digital content market is exploding right now. For the first time ever, digital media has overtaken traditional television in terms of revenue contribution. Digital now accounts for 32 percent of India’s total media and entertainment sector, which is worth billions of dollars. The shift is being driven by cheap smartphones, rock bottom data prices, and seamless digital payment systems like UPI that make it easy for anyone to subscribe to content services with just a few taps on their phone.

Investors are clearly excited about this opportunity. The companies that poured money into Kuku’s latest round include some heavy hitters. Besides Granite Asia leading the round, participants included Vertex Growth Fund, Krafton, the International Finance Corporation, Paramark, Tribe Capital India, and Bitkraft. Their involvement shows that smart money believes mobile content platforms serving regional language audiences in India represent a massive business opportunity.

One interesting detail about this funding round is that it included secondary transactions. This means some of Kuku’s early investors sold their shares to new investors and partially cashed out. Most notably, Google, which had held a small stake of under 2 percent in the company, has now exited completely. While Google’s departure might sound concerning, it’s actually pretty normal for early investors to sell their shares as a company matures and brings in new investors with different expertise and networks.

Kuku estimates that India’s short form audio and video market could reach about $2 billion annually within the next five years. That projection is based on similar trends that played out in China and the United States, where mobile first content platforms grew into massive businesses. If Kuku’s prediction is right, the company is positioning itself to capture a significant piece of that pie by moving early and building the infrastructure, content library, and audience base before the market fully matures.

The company’s financial performance has been improving steadily. In the fiscal year 2024, Kuku reported revenue of about $10 million, more than double what it made the previous year. Even better, the company managed to reduce its losses by 18 percent during the same period. While Kuku isn’t profitable yet, the trend is moving in the right direction, which is exactly what investors want to see. Growing revenue while controlling losses shows the business model is working and could eventually turn profitable as it scales.

For the millions of Indians who use Kuku every day, this funding news means more content, better technology, and hopefully an improved user experience. The platform offers subscription plans at different price points, with quarterly subscriptions being the most popular choice among users. As Kuku invests in celebrity partnerships and premium content, subscribers should see higher quality shows appearing on the platform in the coming months.

The mobile content wars in India are just getting started. With multiple companies competing for users’ attention in several ways and subscription money, platforms will need to keep innovating and producing content that really connects with audiences, difference in strategy highlights how companies are approaching the same market.