Bengaluru: EloElo Group, the consumer AI and entertainment company behind Story TV, India’s No. 1 micro drama platform, has raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal.
The funding round also saw participation from MIT Investment Co. and existing investors, including Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Waterbridge Ventures, Griffin Gaming Partners and others.
Founded in Bengaluru in 2020 by former Flipkart executive Saurabh Pandey, EloElo Group has built a portfolio of consumer entertainment and AI businesses, with Story TV emerging as India’s leading micro drama platform.
Story TV currently offers a catalogue of more than 5,000 micro dramas across six languages. The platform launches a new drama every three hours and records an average of 95 minutes of daily time spent per user.
Besides Story TV, EloElo Group operates Master, a micro-learning platform; Dolphin AI, its agentic AI creative suite; and Voxy AI, an AI companion agent. Across its applications, EloElo Group has more than 40 million monthly active users.
With the latest $80 million Series C funding, EloElo Group’s total capital raised has reached $130 million. The funding announcement comes as the company reported multi-fold revenue growth over the last year.
The company differentiates its business model through its ownership of three key layers of the entertainment ecosystem: content, distribution and an AI-powered production engine.
EloElo Group to Expand Content and AI Capabilities
Commenting on the Series C funding, Saurabh Pandey, Founder and CEO of EloElo Group, said, “A billion people now reach for the phone before any other screen, and the entertainment built for them will be video first, in their own language, in episodes that fit their day.
That is the business EloElo Group is building: an AI-powered entertainment ecosystem that brings the next billion viewers storytelling beyond just clips.
Story TV shows us what India wants to watch, and Dolphin AI gives us the economics to make it, which is how we have scaled with solid unit economics. Consumer AI will change how content is created, distributed and consumed, and we intend to lead that shift from India.
This Series C deepens our content across languages, with a sharper focus on premium originals, doubles down on Dolphin AI, and takes what we have built to more audiences and more markets.”
The company plans to deploy the Series C capital towards developing new original content across local languages, expanding its micro drama offerings internationally and continuing investments in Dolphin AI. The funds will also support other business initiatives.
Micro Drama Market Growth Creates Opportunities for EloElo Group
The funding comes amid growing demand for micro dramas, which have emerged as one of the fastest-growing formats in the global entertainment industry.
According to Omdia, the global micro drama industry is expected to generate $14 billion in revenue by the end of 2026.
In India, Redseer estimates that 40 million people paid for a micro drama at least once in FY26. Meanwhile, Lumikai’s State of India Interactive Media Report projects that the Indian micro drama market will reach $4.5 billion by 2030.
Against this backdrop, Story TV has established itself as a leading platform in India’s micro drama segment.
EloElo Group is looking to build on this position by expanding its content library, strengthening its AI-powered production capabilities and taking its micro drama business into international markets.
Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal on EloElo Group Investment
Manoj Thakur, Founder and Managing Partner of Hornbill Capital, said, “EloElo Group combines strong creative capabilities with the ability to scale content through technology, which is something we deeply believe in.
The team’s execution, financial discipline, and AI capabilities position it well for its next phase of growth. We are excited to support them in building category-leading businesses at the intersection of AI & content.”
NBCUniversal also highlighted the opportunities emerging in mobile-first storytelling and micro drama formats.
Deepak Arya, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Development at NBCUniversal, said, “At NBCUniversal, we see significant opportunity in mobile-first storytelling and emerging formats like micro dramas to engage audiences and meet evolving viewing habits.
Under Saurabh’s leadership, EloElo has developed a differentiated, mobile-first approach with a clear focus on content and storytelling, positioning the company for long-term success.
We’re excited to bring NBCUniversal’s global capabilities to the partnership as EloElo expands beyond India, including into the U.S. market.”
The investment also comes with an international expansion opportunity for EloElo Group, with the company planning to take its micro drama offerings beyond India, including into the U.S. market.
Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor on the Series C funding round.
With the latest capital infusion, EloElo Group plans to strengthen its position in mobile-first entertainment through investments in original storytelling, local-language content, international expansion and AI-powered content production.
