Kuku Raises $85M in India's Growing Mobile Content Market

Kuku Secures $85 Million to Expand Content Offerings

Kuku, a prominent Indian storytelling platform supported by Google, has successfully secured $85 million in a new funding round. This investment will be utilized to broaden its range of audio and video content, responding to the escalating competition within India’s rapidly growing mobile-first content market.

Series C Funding Details

The Series C funding round was spearheaded by Granite Asia (previously known as GGV Capital), resulting in a valuation for Kuku exceeding twice its prior assessment, reaching approximately $500 million. Kuku’s founder and CEO, Lal Chand Bisu, confirmed these details to TechCrunch. Additional participants in the round included Vertex Growth Fund, Krafton, IFC, Paramark, Tribe Capital India, and Bitkraft.

The funding round also involved secondary transactions, allowing some of Kuku’s initial investors to partially divest their holdings to new investors. Notably, Google, which previously held a stake of less than 2%, has now fully exited its investment, as Bisu explained to TechCrunch.

India’s Thriving Digital Content Landscape

India, with its vast population of over a billion internet users and around 700 million smartphone owners, is witnessing substantial growth in digital content consumption. This surge is fueled by remarkably low data costs and the convenience of seamless micropayments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently highlighted that the cost of 1GB of data in India is less than the price of a cup of tea.

Furthermore, the government-backed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – a system facilitating instant digital transactions between bank accounts – has significantly broadened access to digital payments. This combination has attracted global companies like Instagram and YouTube, while simultaneously empowering local platforms such as Kuku to effectively reach wider audiences through content in various Indian languages.

Digital Media’s Rise in India

In 2024, digital media surpassed television to become the leading segment within India’s media and entertainment sector, contributing 32% of total revenues – ₹802 billion (approximately $9.13 billion), according to a March report by EY. The report forecasts a compound annual growth rate of 11.2% for digital media between 2024 and 2027.

Emergence of Microdramas

This growth potential has encouraged platforms like Kuku to explore innovative formats, including the increasingly popular microdramas – short, serialized video stories tailored for mobile viewing. This format has gained traction among Indian startups and even attracted attention from global platforms, with Meta recently launching its own microdrama series targeting Gen Z audiences.

Kuku’s Evolution and Growth

Established in 2018, Kuku initially gained recognition among Indian consumers with its audiobook offerings through Kuku FM. The company has since expanded its product portfolio to include two primary platforms: Kuku TV, which presents long-form stories in short, vertical episodes, and Kuku FM, which concentrates on audio-first content.

These platforms offer content in over eight Indian languages and have exceeded 10 million paid subscribers, a significant increase from the 2 million subscribers reported during its previous funding round in 2023.

Since its last funding, Kuku has experienced a twofold increase in average revenue per user and a tenfold expansion in overall growth, according to Bisu. He also noted that approximately 80% of its subscriber base resides in non-metropolitan areas.

Subscriber Demographics and Pricing

Kuku’s subscriber base is comprised of roughly 60% male and 40% female users, with the majority falling within the 25-35 age range, Bisu stated.

Subscription plans for Kuku’s platforms are available at ₹199 (around $2) per month, ₹499 (approximately $6) per quarter, and ₹1,499 (about $17) per year. Bisu indicated that the quarterly plan is the most favored option among users.

User Engagement and Content Creation

Users spend an average of 100 minutes daily on Kuku’s platforms, and over 90% of subscribers remain active on a monthly basis, the founder reported.

Kuku collaborates with third-party content creators, currently engaging around 10,000 creators. Over half of these creators are based in smaller towns and non-metro cities, Bisu noted. The startup distributes approximately ₹400 million (roughly $4.5 million) monthly to its creator network.

App Performance and Downloads

According to data from Appfigures shared with TechCrunch, the Kuku FM app has consistently led in downloads and consumer spending among Kuku’s portfolio, which also includes Kuku TV, Kuku Bhakti (a devotional app), and StoRizz (focused on microdramas).

As of September, Kuku recorded over 229 million total downloads, with 122 million for Kuku FM and 88 million for Kuku TV. The apps generated over $4 million in consumer spending, with $2.8 million from Kuku FM and $1.3 million from Kuku TV.

In 2025 alone, the startup saw over 134 million downloads – a 533% year-over-year increase – and $1.9 million in consumer spending, representing a 156% increase.

Bisu clarified that, in terms of overall consumption, Kuku TV surpasses Kuku FM, accounting for over 60% of total usage.

Leveraging Generative AI

The Bengaluru-based startup has established a generative AI studio to optimize content creation, utilizing AI tools for multilingual translation and on-demand ad production. This studio incorporates software from companies like OpenAI and ElevenLabs, alongside Kuku’s proprietary tools.

“We are increasingly focusing on our internal tools, as we now possess a substantial amount of our own data. Training models with this data yields superior results compared to external tools,” Bisu explained to TechCrunch.

While Kuku does not employ GenAI to autonomously generate content, it leverages the technology to assist creators in developing audio and video stories. These tools aid in generating titles, plots, scripts, dialogues, and thumbnails, while the actual production remains a manual process, Bisu clarified.

He added that 70% to 80% of Kuku’s operations are currently powered by GenAI, with the remaining 20% completed manually.

Future Plans and Competition

Bisu indicated that the new funding will be used to enhance content quality by collaborating with celebrities from film and television.

However, Kuku faces significant competition from local rivals, particularly Pocket FM, which offers similar storytelling formats. Pocket FM has initiated multiple copyright infringement lawsuits against Kuku, with the Delhi High Court recently restricting Kuku from releasing new episodes of five contested shows.

Bisu asserted that Pocket FM’s lawsuits are strategically timed to disrupt investor confidence. “These actions consistently occur whenever we are in the process of securing funding,” Bisu told TechCrunch.

He emphasized that Kuku has a dedicated team responsible for manually reviewing all uploaded content to ensure compliance with copyright regulations. The startup has also developed tools to detect the use of copyrighted or third-party material.

“A portion of this funding will be allocated to improving these tools – we intend to invest in technology capable of identifying instances where creators are utilizing someone else’s work,” Bisu stated.

Comparative Performance

Appfigures data reveals that Kuku had more downloads than Pocket FM but generated significantly lower in-app purchase revenue. While India constitutes the majority of Kuku’s downloads and earnings, Pocket FM derives 82% of its downloads from India but generates 98% of its revenue from outside the country.

Despite a 21% year-over-year decline in downloads to 38 million, Pocket FM experienced a 61% increase in consumer spending to $100 million in 2025, according to Appfigures data.

Looking Ahead

Kuku intends to utilize its latest funding to strengthen its AI and data infrastructure, expand its team of 150 employees by recruiting talent in technology and content creation, and foster deeper creator partnerships. The startup is also exploring expansion opportunities in the Middle East and the U.S., with plans to scale its operations in the U.S. by 2026.