Indian language digital storytelling platform Pratilipi has raised $20 million in a Series E funding round led by Singapore-based Jungle Ventures, the company announced on April 3. The fresh capital will be used to fuel the company’s international expansion, particularly in the United States, and to delve into new storytelling formats like animation and vertical drama shows.
This round included $12 million in primary investment and $8 million in secondary investment, bringing Pratilipi’s total funding to $108 million to date from investors such as Krafton, Nexus Venture Partners, and Omidyar Network. The latest fundraise values the company at $100 million, marking a drop from its earlier valuation of $265 million.
The company expects this round to be its final primary fundraising round ahead of a planned IPO in 2026.
Speaking to Moneycontrol, Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Co-founder of Pratilipi, confirmed that Chinese investors Qiming Venture Partners and Shunwei Capital will be exiting the firm following this investment. “We wanted to clean our cap table before an IPO…We intend to go for an IPO sooner rather than later,” he said.
“At Pratilipi, our mission has always been to empower storytellers and connect them with audiences worldwide,” Singh said. “As we continue to grow, our focus remains on creating a platform where every storyteller, regardless of language or medium, can find their voice and reach millions.”
Singh revealed that the company has already launched its core online literature product in the United States and will build a small team in the region. “We just launched two or three days ago and are still figuring things out. We’ll only know exactly how this will work after a few iterations. In the long term, we want it to be exactly like our literature business in India,” he added.
Pratilipi’s journey to this milestone has not been without challenges. The startup went through a difficult phase marked by a funding crunch, which resulted in delayed salary payouts. To manage the crisis, the company reduced marketing costs by over 90% and slowed down its IP licensing efforts.
Despite these setbacks, Singh stated that the company’s core online literature business is now profitable and cash-flow positive, generating Rs 3 crore every month in free cash flow. “Our literature business itself was fundamentally so good that all that I had to do was not panic. Otherwise, literature itself pays off for everything else,” he said.
Pratilipi’s financials have shown a significant turnaround. The company reported a 65.8% rise in revenue to Rs 57.8 crore in FY24 from Rs 34.9 crore in FY23, while its net loss shrank by 61.9% to Rs 58.1 crore in FY24 from Rs 152.6 crore in FY23.
Six Business Units Driving Growth
Founded in 2014 by Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Rahul Ranjan, Sankaranarayanan Devarajan, Prashant Gupta, and Sahradayi Modi, Pratilipi now operates six business units:
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Online Literature Platform – 1.6 million writers across 12 Indian languages and over 12 million monthly active readers.
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Pratilipi FM – Audio storytelling product.
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Pratilipi Comics – Online comics platform.
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IVM Podcasts – Acquired in 2020 to enter the podcast space.
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Westland Books – Acquired from Amazon in 2022 for traditional publishing.
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The Write Order – Acquired in 2021 for self-publishing capabilities.
Additionally, Pratilipi is heavily involved in licensing its IP for adaptations into TV and web shows. “About five TV shows and one web series have been launched based on our stories so far. There are another 25-30 shows which are under different stages of development,” Singh said.
In March 2025 alone, the online literature product generated Rs 7.6 crore in revenue. The freemium model allows writers to share their stories and monetize through subscriptions. Readers can access Pratilipi Premium, which offers a subscription model priced at Rs 149/month, Rs 749/6 months, and Rs 1,499/year, or opt for virtual coins and author-level subscriptions on Android.
Jungle Ventures Backs Vernacular Storytelling
“With over 2 hours of daily engagement per user and a rapidly growing user base, Pratilipi has cracked the code to building something truly rare, with massive potential both in India and globally,” said Arpit Beri, Partner, India Investments, Jungle Ventures.
“Ranjeet and the team have built a culturally resonant, creator-first platform that’s unlocking the true power of vernacular storytelling,” he added.
Scaling Audio Content
The company also noted that Pratilipi FM, its audio vertical, has begun to scale meaningfully, particularly among younger, mobile-first audiences. It now competes directly with Pocket FM and Kuku FM, as well as new offerings from Pocket Entertainment such as Pocket Novel and Pocket Toons.
As Pratilipi sets its sights on IPO ambitions and international growth, this new funding round marks a pivotal moment in its journey to become a global storytelling powerhouse rooted in vernacular creativity.
