Ahead of IPO, Kuku FM lines up Kotak, Jefferies, JM Financial, Axis

Ahead of a planned public listing, audiobook and storytelling platform Kuku FM, now rebranded as Kuku, has lined up four investment banks to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore, according to a Moneycontrol report.

The Bengaluru-based company has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, Jefferies, JM Financial and Axis Capital to work on its draft red herring prospectus. The proposed IPO is expected to comprise a mix of a fresh issue of shares and an offer-for-sale (OFS) by existing investors.

Kuku last raised $85 million in a Series D funding round in October 2024, led by Granite Asia (formerly GGV Capital), with participation from Vertex Growth Fund, Krafton, IFC, Paramark, Tribe Capital India and Bitkraft.

Earlier, the company raised $25 million in a Series C round in October 2023, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum Partnership.

To date, Kuku has raised about $156 million in funding.

Financially, the company reported strong top-line growth, with revenue from operations rising 2.1x year-on-year to Rs 88 crore in FY24, from Rs 41 crore in FY23. Losses narrowed 18% year-on-year to Rs 96 crore in FY24.

Founded in 2018 by Lal Chand Bisu, Vikas Goyal and Vinod Kumar Meena, Kuku operates in India’s fast-growing audio content market and competes with platforms such as Pocket FM, Awaz and Headfone.