Audio content platform Kuku FM announced on Wednesday that it has raised $25 million in a Series C funding round, which was co-led by The Fundamentum Partnership and International Finance Corporation (IFC) with participation from Vertex Ventures.
The latest round is Fundamentum’s second investment in the audio content platform.
For the Bharat 2.0 audience, Kuku FM said it will use the funds to enhance the content ecosystem, increase the breadth of content across Indian languages, and focus on technology.
“In our journey towards building a business model focused on the 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,” Lal Chand Bisu, Co-founder & CEO, Kuku FM, said in a statement.
The Fundamentum Partnership has led the $21.9 million Series B1 funding round that the audio content platform secured in September 2022. Google, Paramark, Krafton, Inc., 3one4 Capital, V Cube Ventures, India Quotient, and FounderBank Capital are other investors in the audio platform.
“Kuku FM has created a niche category which caters to the unique and rapidly evolving demands of the new digital natives of India. Moreover, Bisu and team have demonstrated a great understanding in terms of creating a business model with a strong focus on unit economics and robust fundamentals,” said Prateek Jain, Principal, Fundamentum Partnership.
Additionally, IFC’s investment in Kuku FM intends to assist the development of India’s creator economy by transforming how people-first audio content is created and consumed across the country.
“Our partnership with Kuku FM, a leading vernacular audio content platform, aligns with our shared gender and inclusion priorities and aims to empower underrepresented voices, especially those of women, fostering upward mobility and sustainable economic growth,” said Wendy Werner, IFC’s India Country Head.
Kuku FM currently provides more than 150,000 hours of content in various formats, including audiobooks, stories, book summaries, courses, and podcasts, with the majority of the content being unique to the platform.
