Indian audio storytelling platform Pocket FM has doubled its annualized revenue run rate to $500 million over the past year as artificial intelligence takes on a larger role in content production. AI now powers 93% of its catalog and is used to produce 99% of new content, according to co-founder and CEO Rohan Nayak.
Humans remain responsible for ideas and storytelling, while AI helps turn those concepts into finished audio at scale. Pocket FM has trained its own models for creative writing and text-to-speech using years of production data and listener engagement signals, while its Sherpa platform reflects the company’s official approach to AI-assisted story creation.
AI Cuts Production Costs and Increases Output
Nayak said AI has made content production about 80 times cheaper. Producing 100 hours of content once took roughly a year, but the company can now complete the same amount in one day.
More than 550,000 creators now produce about 2.5 million hours of AI-powered content each year. Pocket FM’s catalog contained roughly 100,000 hours two years ago, while the platform now has more than 770,000 audio series.
The larger catalog has also coincided with higher listener retention. Pocket FM’s 12-month revenue retention rate increased from 44% two years ago to 76%, which Nayak partly attributed to having more stories available for different listener preferences.
Pocket FM’s annualized revenue run rate was about $250 million a year ago and reached $430 million in April before reaching $500 million. The figure is calculated by multiplying monthly revenue by 12 rather than using contracted recurring revenue.
The platform now has more than 250 million listeners across over 20 countries. The U.S., where revenue grew about 70% over the past year, contributes roughly 70% of Pocket FM’s annualized revenue run rate.
About $85 million of the total comes from advertising, while approximately $415 million comes from users paying to access individual episodes. Pocket FM said 96 titles have generated more than $1 million each, including 13 that have exceeded $10 million.
Pocket Entertainment Moves Beyond Audio
Parent company Pocket Entertainment is extending its AI production model into other formats. Its U.S.-only microdrama app Pocket Saga reached an annualized revenue run rate of about $15 million within three months.
Unlike Pocket FM, Pocket Saga’s content is entirely AI-produced. The company is also converting successful audio stories into AI-generated videos and plans to enter at least two additional entertainment formats over the next five years, while licensing stories for books, television and movies.
Pocket Entertainment is also discussing a new funding round with investors after reports that it could seek $100 million to $120 million at a valuation of about $2 billion. Nayak said there is no immediate need to raise capital, but additional funding would mainly support AI development and new formats.
The company says it is profitable and generating positive adjusted cash flow, although it has not disclosed margins or profit figures. Nayak also told TechCrunch that Pocket Entertainment does not plan to pursue a public listing within the next 24 months, while keeping both India and the U.S. as possible future listing markets.
Featured image credits: Apple AppStore
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