Bengaluru-based audio technology startup Pocket FM has announced that it has let go some of its US-based show writers as it looks to optimise costs and allocate resources more effectively within its current projects.
While the company did not disclose the exact number of writers affected, a Moneycontrol report said the move affected around 200 contracted writers.
Reason for dismissal
A Pocket FM spokesperson explained the reason for the job cuts: “We have recently had to part ways with several US-based audio series writers to align resources with our current programming pipeline. These changes are common in the content production industry and do not impact the overall health of the company.”
What does Pocket FM do?
Founded in 2018 by IIT-Kharagpur alumni Rohan Nayak, Nishanth Srinivas and Prateek Dixit, Pocket FM offers a variety of long-form audio content including audio shows, stories, novels and podcasts.
In March, the startup raised $103 million in Series D funding at a valuation of $750 million.
In April, the company hired Umesh Bude as senior vice president of engineering, Rohan Gandhi as vice president of analytics, and Rupesh Gopal as vice president of engineering.
Pocket FM’s presence in the market
Pocket FM boasts over 130 million listeners worldwide, with an average daily listening time of over 115 minutes.
The startup claims to have over 100,000 hours of content on its online platform, with over 2,000 exclusive audio series and over 400,000 episodes.
As of December 2023, the company reported global annualized revenue rate (ARR) of $150 million, of which more than $100 million came from the United States.
The platform offers content in various languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, Marathi, etc. Users can watch a few episodes for free every 24 hours, but to watch more episodes, they have to purchase virtual coins.
