Bengaluru-based EloElo Group, owner of micro-drama app Story TV, has raised $80 million in a Series C funding round co-led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, as the company looks to produce more original shows, expand its artificial intelligence (AI)-based production tools and take its short-form dramas to overseas markets, including the US.
MIT Investment Management Co. and existing investors Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, WaterBridge Ventures and Griffin Gaming Partners also participated in the round, the company said on Wednesday.
The funding takes EloElo’s total capital raised to $130 million. The company has been valued at around $500 million following the round, according to people familiar with the matter.
Micro dramas — serialised shows designed primarily for smartphone viewing — are expected to generate $14 billion globally by the end of 2026, according to research firm Omdia.
“If you think about it, there is currently no Netflix of microdramas, and there is an opportunity to build one of the most loved brands globally in this space,” EloElo founder and chief executive officer Saurabh Pandey told Business Standard.
Pandey said it was too early to say where EloElo would launch first overseas, but the company was definitely evaluating the US, along with other markets in Asia and Europe.
It plans to target a combination of diaspora audiences and local-language viewers. Story TV has already experimented with English-language shows.
“We see significant opportunity in mobile-first storytelling and emerging formats like micro dramas to engage audiences and meet evolving viewing habits,” said Deepak Arya, executive vice-president of corporate strategy and development at NBCUniversal.
“We’re excited to bring NBCUniversal’s global capabilities to the partnership as EloElo expands beyond India, including into the U.S. market,” he added.
Pandey said investors were attracted to the company’s vision of building an AI-native entertainment ecosystem for the next billion users, many of whom may not rely on television as their primary source of entertainment.
He said EloElo was entering a new phase focused on scaling profitably, while its investors had already begun facilitating introductions to support the company’s AI development.
Founded in 2020 by Pandey, a former Flipkart executive, EloElo describes Story TV as the leading micro-drama platform in India.
The app has more than 5,000 micro dramas across six languages, with users spending an average of 95 minutes a day on the platform, according to the company.
The group also operates micro-learning app Master, AI creative suite Dolphin AI and AI companion agent Voxy AI.
Across its apps, EloElo has more than 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,” Pandey said.
The company said it recorded multi-fold revenue growth over the past year.
Pandey declined to disclose revenue figures, saying EloElo would file its FY26 financial results by December.
Subscriptions account for the majority of revenue, alongside an advertising-supported model under which users watch advertisements to unlock episodes.
Pandey said coin-based monetisation models had historically not worked well in India.
“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.
EloElo said it controls all three layers of its business — content, distribution and the AI-powered production engine.
AI now drives around 70-75 per cent of the company’s workflows, Pandey said.
Some shows are fully AI-generated, while others use a hybrid production model in which actors perform against green screens and AI is used to replace visual effects and location requirements.
Other productions remain live-action, with AI being used selectively in the workflow.
The company has scaled production from two-three new dramas a day to around 250 a month, Pandey said.
The average cost of producing a micro drama has not increased and remains within the $15,000 range, he added.
Pandey said AI was not replacing strong creative professionals and that the number of stories produced by the company could rise two-three times in the immediate term.
Story TV has worked with more than 50,000 people in the creative industry over roughly the past year, he said.
Micro dramas are among the fastest-growing formats in global entertainment.
Pandey estimated that China accounts for around $8-10 billion of the global micro-drama market, while India became a market worth close to $700-800 million over the past year.
Redseer estimates that around 40 million Indians paid for a micro drama at least once in FY26.
Lumikai projects that India’s micro-drama market could reach $4.5 billion by 2030.
Competition in the segment includes Kuku TV, JioHotstar Tadka and Bullet.
Pandey expects two-three players to emerge as large platforms, with others focusing on niches such as non-fiction or local-language micro dramas.
Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial adviser on the funding round.
