Lightspeed finalizing leading $80M-plus funding in Pocket FM
Audio series platform Pocket FM has topped $160 million in annual recurring revenue and is inching closer to raising over $80 million in a new funding round, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. Lightspeed, an existing investor in Pocket FM, is in advanced stages of talks to lead the funding round into the Indian startup, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter is private. The investment giant is evaluating leading the round from both its India and U.S. arms, one of the sources said. The current deliberations value the startup at nearly $800 million, two of the sources said. The funding deliberations follow a fast-paced revenue growth at the Indian startup. Its current ARR is over $160 million, two of the sources said, a six-to-seven times increase over a year ago. The startup’s expansion into the U.S., and offering customers a non-subscription, pay-as-you-go offering has proven especially successful, according to one of the sources. Pocket FM and Lightspeed declined to comment Tuesday evening. Indian outlet Entrackr previously reported some of the funding …