Audio content platform Kuku FM has raised USD 19.5 million (about Rs 148.6 crore) in a funding round led by South Korean gaming giant Krafton. The series-B funding round also saw participation from existing investors 3one4 Capital, Vertex Ventures, and India Quotient, with Founder Bank Capital and Verlinvest joining as new investors.
“With this latest round of funding, Kuku FM has secured a total of USD 25 million since its inception in 2018. Fuelling its existing offerings, Kuku FM will use the funds raised through this investment to broaden its language offerings and consolidate content creation,” it said in a statement. It offers content in five languages — Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, and Gujarati.
“We have seen an unprecedented consumption of audio content amongst users in our country with 70 per cent users coming from Tier 2 cities. With this momentum, we are confident about hitting 10 million active paid users by the end of this year and 50 million paid users by 2025,” Kuku FM co-founder and CEO Lal Chand Bisu said. Kuku FM claims to have 6 million active paid users at present.
Krafton head of India division Sean Hyunil Sohn said Indian IPs(intellectual properties) and regional Indian languages content growth will unlock next big monetization opportunity not just in India but also globally in the long term and Kuku FM team is best placed to capture this opportunity in the audio category.
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