Audio Series platform Pocket FM said it has raised $16 million in debt funding from US-based Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With this additional capital infusion, the company plans to strengthen its audio series library, expand its creator community and accelerate revenues.
Founded in 2018, Pocket FM had raised $93.5 million before the Series C round. With the new debt round, the total capital infusion has increased to $109.5 million. The audio platform said it clocked a 12x revenue growth last year, surpassing ARR (annualised revenue run-rate) of $25 million in October 2022.
Rohan Nayak, Co-founder & CEO, Pocket FM said, “We are thrilled to be leading the way in creating a new entertainment category in the form of audio series, with a focus on strong unit economics. The funding we have secured will help us continue expanding our content library and build the largest audio series platform globally.”
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Chris Cameron, Senior Vice-President at Silicon Valley Bank added, “Pocket FM has an innovative vision to audio storytelling and is helping to position it as a mainstream entertainment format. Its unique approach to audio entertainment and impressive unit economics shows significant revenue potential in a massive addressable market.”
Pocket FM said it has been witnessing strong adoption of audio series and growth in listening time, catering to an 80-million listener community globally, with listeners spending an average of over 150 minutes daily.