News Summary

Kuku, an Indian storytelling platform, has successfully raised $85 million in a Series C funding round aimed at expanding its audio and video content offerings. The round was led by Granite Asia, with participation from Vertex Growth Fund, Krafton, IFC, Paramark, Tribe Capital India, and Bitkraft. This new funding values the company at approximately $500 million. Kuku, which provides content in more than eight Indian languages, has grown significantly since its founding in 2018, boasting over 10 million paid subscribers. The platform has seen a 533% year-over-year increase in downloads and a 156% rise in consumer spending in 2025. The funds will be used to enhance Kuku’s AI and data infrastructure, expand its workforce, and scale operations in India and internationally, with a planned U.S. launch in 2026. Despite facing competition from Pocket FM, Kuku aims to leverage its GenAI studio for content creation and maintain its growth trajectory.