Audio content platform Kuku FM has raised $25 million in a Series C funding round led by Nandan Nilekani-Fundamentum Partnership and International Finance Corporation (IFC), with participation from Vertex Ventures.

The Google-backed start-up looks to make deeper inroads with its audiobook offerings in Indian languages and focus on technology, as per the statement.

This latest investment is Fundamentum’s second investment in the vernacular audio content platform, as Kuku FM had last raised $21.9 million in Series B1 funding, led by the Fundamentum Partnership in September 2022.

Other investors in the audio platform include Google, Paramark, Krafton, 3one4 Capital, V Cube Ventures, India Quotient and FounderBank Capital.

Founded in 2018 by Lal Chand Bisu, Vikas Goyal and Vinod Kumar Meena, Kuku FM currently has over 2.5 million paid subscribers. It hosts over 150,000 hours of content in various formats, including audiobooks, stories, book summaries, courses and podcasts.

7 languages

Beyond its content, the platform provides proprietary content-creation tools to users. It has expanded its language offerings to include content in seven Indian languages: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

“In our journey towards building a business model focused on Bharat 2.0 segment and creating a sustainable business model with a clear path to profitability, Fundamentum team’s insights and support have been invaluable. We are excited to welcome our new partner International Finance Corporation. We look forward to leveraging IFC’s valuable experience and expertise in scaling up Kuku FM’s business,” said Lal Chand Bisu, Co-founder & CEO, Kuku FM.

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