Kuku FM hits high notes with $85M fundraise

Google-backed Kuku FM has raised $85 million in Series C funding, led by Granite Asia, through a mix of primary capital infusion and secondary share sales.

Kuku FM is an Indian audio content platform that offers a variety of audio content like audiobooks, stories, and courses, available through its mobile app and website.

What’s brewing: the funding round values Kuku at more than double its previous valuation to around $500 million. 

In 2024, digital media surpassed television to become India’s largest entertainment segment, contributing 32% of total revenues, around $9.13 billion. Growing at an expected annual rate of 11.2% through 2027, the boom has sparked a wave of innovation.

Startups like Kuku, Pocket Entertainment, ShareChat, Dashverse, and Eloelo are betting big on microdramas, short, serialised video stories made for mobile, as they race to capture India’s fast-growing digital audience.