India’s EloElo nabs $80M from NBCUniversal to bet on the country’s rising microdrama market
StoryTV has more than 33 million monthly active users according to Sensor Tower figures
Key points
- EloElo has raised $80 million in Series C funding from Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, bringing its total fundraising to $130 million at a $500 million valuation.
- Its Story TV app has over 33 million active users and offers more than 5,000 titles in six languages.
- Analysts expect India's microdrama industry to cross $3-$4 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
EloElo, the Indian company behind the microdrama app Story TV, has raised $80 million in Series C funding from Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal. The round brings its total fundraising to $130 million and values the company at $500 million.
More than 118 million users watch microdramas every month in India, and Story TV is one of the top apps in the format, with over 33 million active users, according to analysts. Founded in 2020 by former Flipkart executive Saurabh Pandey, the company offers a catalog of more than 5,000 titles in six languages.
How users spend time
Pandey told TechCrunch that the snackable format keeps users coming back across the day, with the average user logging 95 minutes on the app through multiple sessions.
He said he believes the next billion users will grow up watching content on their phones rather than on television, and that serialized storytelling on mobile was previously unsolved.
AI is a really fast race car where AI is the engine, but you need an extremely capable Formula One driver to be on the steering wheel
— Saurabh Pandey
Monetization and AI plans
Making money is a challenge in India. A Redseer report cited by the article indicates more than 40 million people have paid for microdramas at least once, but only 15-17 million pay monthly, and an Ormax Media survey found 72% of people have never paid.
Story TV offers monthly, quarterly and yearly subscriptions plus some ad-supported free content. The company also plans to widen access to its internal DolphinTV video creation tool, which can edit and generate images, audio and video.
Pandey said human involvement remains essential to good stories. "AI is a really fast race car where AI is the engine, but you need an extremely capable Formula One driver to be on the steering wheel," he said.
