EloElo Group raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal. The Bengaluru-based company plans to use the funds to expand internationally and build the “Netflix of micro-drama.” It reported 40 million monthly active users and uses AI to boost its production efficiency.
Synopsis
EloElo Group, the parent company of Story TV, successfully raised $80 million in a Series C funding round. The funding round was led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, significantly increasing the company's valuation. EloElo aims to enhance its micro-drama platform and expand into international markets. The company reported substantial user growth and high production efficiency using AI technology.
EloElo Group, the parent company of micro-drama platform Story TV, has raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, as the Bengaluru-based company looks to expand internationally and build what it sees as the “Netflix of micro-drama”.
The latest round has nearly fivefold increased the company's valuation to $500 million, according to sources familiar with the development. The fundraise takes EloElo's total capital raised to $130 million.
MIT Investment Company and existing investors Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Waterbridge Ventures and Griffin Gaming Partners also participated in the round. Around $60 million came from external investors, with the remainder contributed by existing investors.
Nearly 95% of the funding is primary capital, while $3-4 million will be through secondary transactions involving early angels and investors.
Live Events
Founded in 2020 by former Flipkart executive Saurabh Pandey, EloElo operates Story TV, Master, Dolphin AI and Voxy AI. Story TV has more than 5,000 micro-dramas across six languages, with a new drama released every three hours. The company reported over 40 million monthly active users across its apps and more than 300 million installs.
The fresh capital will be deployed towards premium original content across languages, strengthening Dolphin AI, its AI-powered creative suite, and launching micro-dramas in international markets, including the US.
Pandey told ET that EloElo has recorded four-digit year-on-year revenue growth, largely driven by Story TV. While the company has profitable unit economics at the user level, it is not yet profitable overall. Its FY26 financials are expected to provide more clarity on its performance.
AI has become central to EloElo's production model, with around 70-80% of its workflows AI-enabled. The company’s average micro-drama production cost remains at Rs 15-17 lakh, with AI being used for script assistance, visual effects, location replacement and multilingual localisation. It has produced hundreds of fully AI-generated and hybrid dramas.
Pandey estimates that leading micro-drama platforms have reached a combined annualised revenue run rate of $700-800 million in India. He expects the category to become a $4-5 billion market by 2030, with two or three large players eventually dominating.
NBCUniversal, Pandey said, will provide strategic insights into content and international expansion, though no immediate distribution partnership is planned.
Hornbill Capital founder and managing partner Manoj Thakur said the company’s creative capabilities and technology-led approach to scaling content were key to its potential.
NBCUniversal executive vice-president for corporate strategy and development Deepak Arya said the company saw significant opportunity in mobile-first storytelling and emerging formats such as micro-dramas.
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.
...moreless
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.