EloElo Raises $80 Million to Expand Story TV’s Microdramas

EloElo, the Bengaluru-based parent of Indian microdrama service Story TV, raised $80 million in a Series C round led by NBCUniversal and Hornbill Capital. The investment brings the company’s total funding to $130 million and values it at $500 million. MIT Investment Co. and several existing investors also participated.

Founded in 2020 by former Flipkart executive Saurabh Pandey, EloElo operates Story TV, a mobile platform for short serialized dramas. Its library has more than 5,000 titles in six languages, and the company says users spend an average of 95 minutes a day on the app. It adds a new title every three hours.

EloElo plans to use the proceeds to produce more original shows in local languages, develop its Dolphin AI creative tools and take its microdramas into overseas markets, including the United States. NBCUniversal executive Deepak Arya said the company sees potential in mobile-focused storytelling and expects to contribute its global capabilities to the partnership.

The group says its apps—including learning service Master and AI companion Voxy AI—together attract over 40 million active users each month and have over 300 million installs. EloElo also reported that its revenue increased over the past year.

India’s microdrama audience is growing, but paid subscriptions remain a hurdle: estimates cited by the company’s coverage put monthly paying users at 15 million to 17 million, despite more than 40 million people having paid at least once. EloElo offers both paid plans and ad-supported free programming.