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Audio streaming platform Pocket FMhas launched Pocket Novel, an online reading platform connecting Indian writers and readers, and plans to invest $40 million in this effort.

Pocket Novel seeks to serve as a gateway for visibility and earning possibilities for writers and bring distribution opportunities across diverse formats and categories. The aim is to unlock the immense potential in the underpenetrated novel market in India, said the company in a statement.

In its beta phase, the platform has built a community of 1.5 lakh writers, with some top-performing writers making over $2,500 every month, the company said in the statement.

More than 2% of novels on the platform have garnered over 5 lakh reads and over 5% have exceeded 1 lakh reads, the statement read. The platform’s revenue has grown 500% in 2023 and is set to reach $100 million ARR by 2025, becoming the largest online reading platform in India, it added.

The company envisions having 1 million writers and a library of 2 million titles on its platform by 2025.

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[Funding alert] Pocket FM raises $65M in Series C round from Goodwater Capital, Naver and others

According to the Registrar of Companies filings, Pocket FM reported Rs 131 crore in revenue in FY23, a huge jump from Rs 17.5 crore in FY22. The Bengaluru-based company also narrowed its loss before tax to Rs 75.7 crore in FY23, a 56% decrease from Rs 171.6 crore in FY22.

Founded in 2018 by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth Srinivas, and Prateek Dixit, Pocket FM is an online audio entertainment platform, with a strong focus on serialised fictional storytelling. The platform, which is available in languages such as English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Bengali, has 80 million listeners globally.