EloElo Group raises $80 mn from Hornbill Capital, NBCUniversal, MIT, others
Mumbai: EloElo Group, the consumer AI and entertainment company behind microdrama platform Story TV, has raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, the company said on Wednesday.
MIT Investment Co. and existing investors Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Waterbridge Ventures, Griffin Gaming Partners & others also participated in the funding round. The transaction values the EloElo Group at $500 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial adviser to the company on the fundraise.
Eloelo Group will deploy the fresh capital across three priorities: expand premium original content in Indian languages, take its microdrama platform Story TV to international markets, and strengthen its AI capabilities. “We plan to step up investments in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi content, while working with production houses to create a mix of AI-led, hybrid and live-action dramas,” Saurabh Pandey, founder of EloElo Group, told Mint in an interview.
More than 95% of the $80 million fundraise comprises fresh capital, with only a small portion going towards exits by early angel investors, Pandey said. External investors, including NBCUniversal and MIT, will each hold a minority stake of less than 5% in the company, he added.
“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,” said Pandey.
Revenue growth
The latest fundraise takes EloElo Group's total capital raised to $130 million to date. The company said its revenue grew multi-fold over the past year and that it operates across all three layers of the business: content, distribution and an AI-powered production engine.
Pandey said EloElo recorded close to four-digit year-on-year growth in FY26, but declined to disclose the exact figures as the company is yet to file its audited financial results. The business has also turned fully profitable at the unit economics level, he said. In FY25, its annualised net revenue stood at about ₹70 crore.
Average revenue per user has also risen significantly over the past year, with individual users spending around ₹200-230 a month on the platform, he 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,” said Manoj Thakur, founder and managing partner of Hornbill Capital.
“At NBCUniversal, we see significant opportunity in mobile-first storytelling and emerging formats like microdramas to engage audiences and meet evolving viewing habits,” said Deepak Arya, executive vice-president, corporate strategy & development at NBCUniversal.
NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies, producing and distributing content across film, television and streaming platforms. It also has a global presence in theme parks, consumer products and live experiences.
“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 US market," Arya said.
Microdramas are emerging as one of the fastest-growing formats in global entertainment. The industry is expected to generate $14 billion in revenue worldwide by the end of 2026, according to Omdia. In India, 40 million people paid to watch a microdrama at least once in FY26, estimates Redseer, while Lumikai’s State of India Interactive Media Report projects the market to reach $4.5 billion by 2030.
Founded in Bengaluru in 2020 by Pandey, a former Flipkart executive, EloElo Group has emerged as a leading player in India's microdrama market through its Story TV platform. The platform offers a slate of more than 5,000 microdramas across six languages, launches a new drama every three hours and clocks an average of 95 minutes of views per user each day.
The group also runs Master (micro-learning), Dolphin AI (its agentic AI creative suite) and Voxy AI (an AI companion agent). Across its apps, EloElo Group has over 40 million monthly active users. “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,” said Pandey.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped EloElo reduce production costs by replacing expensive visual effects and location requirements, rather than human actors and creative talent, Pandey said. "AI has not really replaced a great quality actor or a crew. AI has replaced VFX and location costs in that sense," he said.
EloElo is now producing about 250 microdramas every month, releasing a new title every three hours, while keeping the average production cost at ₹15-17 lakh per drama, Pandey said. The company has a team of about 240 people across technology, product and content, and operates from a single office in Bengaluru.