Kuku, an Indian storytelling platform backed by Google, has raised $85 million in recent funding because it goals to scale its audio and video content material choices amid intensifying competitors within the South Asian nation’s mobile-first content material market.
The Sequence C spherical, led by Granite Asia (previously GGV Capital), values Kuku at greater than double its earlier valuation to round $500 million, Kuku founder and CEO Lal Chand Bisu confirmed to TechCrunch. The spherical additionally noticed participation from Vertex Development Fund, Krafton, IFC, Paramark, Tribe Capital India, and Bitkraft.
The newest spherical additionally included secondary transactions, with a few of Kuku’s early buyers partially exiting by promoting their shares to new buyers. This consists of Google, which held below a 2% stake and is now exiting fully, Bisu advised TechCrunch.
India, dwelling to over a billion web subscribers and round 700 million smartphone customers, is experiencing large progress in digital content material consumption, pushed by ultra-low information prices and seamless micropayments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi just lately remarked that 1GB of information in India prices lower than a cup of tea. The nation’s government-backed Unified Funds Interface (UPI) — a system that allows immediate digital funds between financial institution accounts — has additionally made digital transactions simple and broadly accessible. This mixture has made the Indian market enticing to international gamers like Instagram and YouTube, whereas additionally giving native platforms like Kuku a aggressive edge in reaching mass audiences by way of content material in native Indian languages.
In 2024, digital media overtook tv for the primary time to turn into the biggest phase of India’s media and leisure sector, contributing 32% of whole revenues — ₹802 billion (round $9.13 billion), per an EY report (PDF) launched in March. The report additionally tasks that digital media will develop at a compound annual progress charge of 11.2% between 2024 and 2027.
This progress potential has prompted gamers like Kuku to experiment with new codecs, together with the just lately popularized microdramas — quick, serialized video tales designed for cellular viewing. The format has caught on throughout Indian startups and even attracted the eye of world platforms, with Meta just lately launching its personal microdrama sequence within the nation aimed toward Gen Z audiences.
Based in 2018, Kuku first gained traction amongst Indian content material customers with its audiobook choices by way of Kuku FM. Since then, it has expanded its product suite and now operates two flagship platforms: Kuku TV, which presents long-form tales as bite-sized episodes in a vertical format, and Kuku FM, which focuses on audio-first reveals. The platforms present content material in additional than eight Indian languages and have surpassed 10 million paid subscribers, the startup stated, up from two million on the time of its final spherical in 2023.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco
|
October 27-29, 2025
The startup noticed 2X progress in its common income per consumer and 10x total progress since its final funding, Bisu stated, with out disclosing precise monetary figures. He famous that round 80% of its subscribers are from non-metropolitan cities.
Round 60% of Kuku’s subscriber base is male and 40% feminine, Bisu stated, including that the majority subscribers are between the ages of 25 and 35.
Kuku provides entry to its platforms by way of paid subscription plans, together with ₹199 (round $2) monthly, ₹499 (about $6) per quarter, and ₹1,499 (roughly $17) per yr. Bisu stated that the quarterly plan is the most well-liked amongst customers.
Shoppers spend a median of 100 minutes every day on Kuku’s platforms, the founder stated, including that over 90% of the startup’s subscribers stay energetic month over month.
Kuku will get content material by way of third-party content material creators, and it at present has round 10,000 creators on board. Of them, over 50% are from small cities and non-metro cities, Bisu stated. He famous that the startup pays round ₹400 million (roughly $4.5 million) month-to-month to its creators.
The Kuku FM app has led in downloads and client spending among the many startup’s portfolio, which incorporates Kuku TV, Kuku Bhakti (a devotional app that includes tales based mostly on Hindu mythology), and StoRizz (centered on bite-sized microdramas), in keeping with information from Appfigures shared with TechCrunch.
As of September, Kuku had recorded over 229 million whole downloads, together with 122 million for Kuku FM and 88 million for Kuku TV. Kuku’s apps generated greater than $4 million in client spending, with $2.8 million from Kuku FM and $1.3 million from Kuku TV, the info from Appfigures reveals.
In 2025 alone, the startup noticed over 134 million downloads — a 533% year-over-year enhance — and $1.9 million in client spending, up 156%, per Appfigures information.
Bisu advised TechCrunch that, when it comes to consumption, Kuku TV is bigger than Kuku FM, accounting for over 60% of whole utilization.
The Bengaluru-based startup has constructed a GenAI studio to streamline content material creation, using AI instruments for multilingual translation and on-demand advert manufacturing. The studio consists of software program from AI corporations together with OpenAI and ElevenLabs, in addition to a few of Kuku’s in-house instruments.
“We are shifting most of the focus towards our tools, because now we have lot of our own data. We train those models with our own data, and then actually the output is much better than outside tools,” Bisu advised TechCrunch.
The startup doesn’t use GenAI to autonomously produce content material however as a substitute employs it to help creators in growing audio and video tales for its platforms. The instruments assist generate titles, plots, scripts, dialogues, and thumbnails, whereas the precise audio and video manufacturing is completed manually, Bisu stated.
He added that 70% to 80% of the work at Kuku is powered by GenAI, with the remaining 20% nonetheless finished manually.
With out naming particular people, Bisu stated that the startup plans to make use of the brand new funding to reinforce its content material by bringing in celebrities, together with movie and tv personalities.
Nonetheless, Kuku faces stiff competitors from native rivals, most notably Pocket FM, which provides related audio and visible storytelling codecs. Pocket FM has filed a number of copyright infringement lawsuits towards Kuku. Most just lately, the Delhi Excessive Court docket restrained Kuku from releasing new episodes of 5 disputed reveals.
Bisu stated that the lawsuits by Pocket FM have been meant to distract buyers. “Every time, whenever we do a fundraise, they [Pocket FM] go into some court and they file a lawsuit. So it’s not the first time,” Bisu advised TechCrunch.
He added that Kuku has a devoted staff that manually critiques all uploaded content material to test for copyright violations. The startup has additionally developed instruments to detect whether or not creators are importing copyrighted or third-party content material.
“Some of the money [from this round] will also go toward improving these tools — we plan to invest in technology that can identify when a creator is using someone else’s work,” Bisu stated.
In comparison with Pocket FM, Kuku had extra downloads however noticed considerably decrease in-app buy income, Appfigures information reveals. Whereas India accounts for almost all of Kuku’s downloads and earnings, Pocket FM generates 82% of its downloads from India however earns 98% of its income from exterior the nation, in keeping with Appfigures.
Whereas Kuku noticed vital progress in each downloads and client spending in 2025, Pocket FM skilled a 21% year-over-year decline in downloads to 38 million, however a 61% enhance in client spending to $100 million, per Appfigures information.
That stated, Kuku plans to make use of its newest funding to reinforce its AI and information infrastructure, develop its workforce of 150 individuals by hiring new expertise in expertise and content material, and deepen creator partnerships and scale in India and past. The startup is already testing its choices within the Center East and the U.S., with plans to scale within the U.S. in 2026.
