India’s Kuku snags $85M as mobile content wars intensify

Kuku, an Indian storytelling platform supported by Google, has successfully raised $85 million in a recent funding round, gearing up to enhance its audio and video content amid fierce competition in the mobile-first market of South Asia. This Series C funding, led by Granite Asia (formerly GGV Capital), has more than doubled Kuku's valuation to approximately $500 million, as confirmed by the company's founder and CEO, Lal Chand Bisu. The funding round attracted various prominent investors, including Vertex Growth Fund, Krafton, IFC, Paramark, Tribe Capital India, and Bitkraft. Notably, secondary transactions occurred, allowing some early investors, including Google, to exit by selling their shares. Currently, Google holds less than a 2% stake and is fully exiting, according to Bisu. India, with over a billion internet subscribers and around 700 million smartphone users, is witnessing a significant surge in digital content consumption, driven by affordable data and easy micropayment systems. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently highlighted that 1GB of data in India costs less than a cup of tea. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a government-backed system facilitating instant digital transactions, has further simplified digital payments for users, making the Indian market appealing to global players like Instagram and YouTube, while also bolstering local platforms like Kuku. In a landmark shift, digital media surpassed television in 2024 to become the largest segment of India’s media and entertainment sector, accounting for 32% of total revenues—about ₹802 billion (approximately $9.13 billion), as reported by EY in March. The report forecasts a remarkable 11.2% compound annual growth rate for digital media from 2024 to 2027, prompting platforms such as Kuku to innovate with new formats. Recently, microdramas—short, serialized stories tailored for mobile viewing—have gained immense popularity, even drawing interest from global platforms like Meta. Founded in 2018, Kuku initially gained traction with its audiobook services via Kuku FM. It has since broadened its offerings to include two main platforms: Kuku TV, which delivers long-form narratives in bite-sized, vertical episodes, and Kuku FM, which specializes in audio-first content. Kuku now provides material in over eight Indian languages and boasts over 10 million paid subscribers—an impressive leap from just two million in 2023. The platform also reported a twofold increase in average revenue per user and a tenfold overall growth since its previous funding round, although specific financial figures were not disclosed. Approximately 80% of its subscribers hail from non-metro cities, with a demographic distribution of 60% male and 40% female, primarily aged between 25 and 35. Subscription plans start at ₹199 (around $2) monthly, with the quarterly plan being the most favored option among users. Kuku’s users dedicate an average of 100 minutes daily to its platforms, with over 90% maintaining active subscriptions month after month. The startup collaborates with around 10,000 third-party content creators, more than half of whom are from smaller towns. Kuku invests around ₹400 million (approximately $4.5 million) monthly in creator compensation. In terms of downloads, Kuku has excelled, achieving over 229 million total downloads as of September, including 122 million for Kuku FM and 88 million for Kuku TV. The generated consumer spending surpassed $4 million, with $2.8 million from Kuku FM and $1.3 million from Kuku TV. In 2025, the startup noted a staggering 533% year-over-year increase in downloads, totaling 134 million along with a 156% rise in consumer spending. Looking ahead, Kuku has established a GenAI studio to enhance content creation, utilizing AI tools for multilingual translation and on-demand advertisement production. Bisu explained that the studio employs technology from OpenAI and ElevenLabs, along with proprietary tools, to optimize content production processes. While AI aids in generating titles, plots, and scripts, the actual audio and video production remains a manual task. Bisu also mentioned that a portion of the new funding will focus on improving copyright detection tools to ensure that creators do not infringe on copyrighted works. As Kuku continues to expand, it faces stiff competition from rivals like Pocket FM, which has initiated multiple copyright lawsuits against Kuku. Despite these challenges, Kuku remains committed to enhancing its technology and expanding its reach both in India and internationally, with plans to penetrate the Middle East and U.S. markets by 2026.