Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, ADIA, is reportedly in talks to invest in Pocket FM, an Indian audio-storytelling platform that has been expanding in the U.S. The talks have been ongoing for over a month, and a large new round of funding is being discussed. No further details have been released.
- 🌐 Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADIA is in talks to invest in Indian audio-storytelling platform Pocket FM in a large new round of funding.
- 💰 This follows Pocket FM recently securing about $100 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners.
- 📈 Pocket FM’s annualized revenue run rate had exceeded $160 million toward the end of last year, a six-to-seven times increase over a year ago.
- 🌐 Pocket FM has made inroads into the U.S. market and offers a non-subscription, pay-as-you-go model.
- 📖 The startup will invest $40 million to grow its online reading platform Pocket Novel, which has attracted over 90,000 writers in less than a month.
- 💵 Sovereign funds like ADIA ramped up investments in Indian startups last year, providing large funding rounds.