[EloElo Secures $80 Million Funding to Capitalize on India’s Rapidly Expanding Microdrama Market]
More than 118 million users watch microdramas every month as the serialized format has taken off in India. EloElo’s Story TV is one of the top apps for microdramas, with over 33 million active users, according to analysts.
Banking on that scale, the company has raised $80 million in Series C from Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal. This round brings its total fundraising to $130 million, with a valuation of $500 million.
As people spend more time on platforms hosting verticalized videos, serialized content has become popular in multiple geographies, including the U.S., China, and India, with Hollywood celebrities like Issa Rae, James Franco, and Kim Kardashian investing in and starring in the format.
Given India’s massive internet population of more than a billion and the country’s appetite for entertainment content, it presents a big market opportunity, with analysts expecting the industry to cross $3-$4 billion in annual revenue by 2030. Last year, dedicated apps like Story TV, Kuku TV, and Quick TV were among the top downloaded video streaming apps in the country.
Founded in 2020 by former Flipkart executive Saurabh Pandey, the Story TV platform has grown rapidly over the past few years with a catalog of over 5,000 titles across six languages. Pandey told TechCrunch that the snackable content format encourages users to spend an average of 95 minutes on the app daily across multiple sessions.
“I fundamentally believe that the next billion users will probably not grow up on a diet of watching television; they will grow up on a diet of watching content on their phones, right? And this content has to be, and this entertainment, designed very differently. It’s not going to be appointment viewing. It’s going to be within certain slots throughout the day. And a lot of this was earlier solved for short clips, but serialized storytelling was never solved,” Pandey said about the microdrama format.
He believes that while big-screen viewing will still have its place for family or friends, the majority of entertainment consumption in India is expected to shift to mobile devices.
Microdrama platforms compete directly with YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, where creators post content for free. Some have also created ways to support serialized storytelling. Pandey argues that producing high-quality content on StoryTV will help users choose it over other free platforms. The company highlights its partnership with Indian TV production company Balaji Telefilms to produce original content.
The company offers a range of subscription options—monthly, quarterly, and yearly to unlock full content—along with a tier of free content supported by ads, though subscription revenue remains the more lucrative model.
Monetization in India remains challenging, as users often favor free content but conversion to paid subscriptions lags. A report from Redseer indicates that while more than 40 million people have paid for microdrama at least once, only 15-17 million pay monthly, with Ormax Media surveying 72% of users who have never paid for microdrama.
AI and Other Strategic Bets
All microdrama platforms aim to build sufficient supply to engage diverse audiences and are increasingly turning to AI to solve scaling challenges. Platforms like Google-backed Kuku are using AI to streamline workflows and generate content, while others such as Dashverse’s Shortfree employ video AI models to create serialized clips.
At the moment, StoryTV leads with its Dolphin AI platform. Originally developed as an internal tool to improve video creation, the company plans to make the technology broadly available. It functions as an editor with templates and a suite of models capable of generating images, audio, and video, according to its website.
EloElo envisions creators leveraging this tool for marketing campaigns and advertisements. Notably, while Indian platforms like Pocket and Kuku have built AI capabilities for creators, there is a notable gap in offering a scaled alternative to CapCut or Instagram Edits for Indian creators.
Pandey emphasizes that human involvement remains essential for crafting compelling stories, and AI tools should augment rather than replace creative leadership. “My belief in involving AI is that 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. That, for me, is the creative director or the showrunner. AI is supposed to work with them, augmenting their skill set. AI can help write stories, but so far the best stories I have loved have all had a very high human x AI element to it,” he said.
Beyond microdrama, the company also operates Master, a vertical video learning app competing with Seekho and Kuku’s Guru, and Voxy AI, an AI companion app. With over 40 million monthly users across its portfolio, Story TV accounts for the largest share.
EloElo currently employs 240 people and is expanding its AI and machine learning research team. The company is also investing heavily in producing original titles to support its growth strategy.
This round was led by MIT Investment Co., in conjunction with existing investors including Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Waterbridge Ventures, and Griffin Gaming Partners.
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