Storytelling App Pratilipi Secures $20Mn In Series E Round

Pratilipi, a digital storytelling platform has raised $20 million in its Series E funding round led by Jungle Ventures.

Pratilipi has raised $20 million in a mix of primary and secondary funding. This includes a $12 million primary investment, with contributions from two individual investors, and an $8 million secondary sale.

According to CEO Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Qiming Venture Partners sold 75-80% of its shares for a partial exit, while Shunwei Capital fully exited by selling all its shares.

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In a secondary transaction, existing shareholders sell their shares to new investors, meaning the company itself does not receive funds.

Following this round, Pratilipi’s valuation has dropped to $100 million from $265 million in its last funding round. The company previously raised $48 million in 2021, led by South Korean gaming giant Krafton Inc.

 With its latest funding, the company plans to enter new markets, starting with the US, while continuing to diversify its content formats.

“Two years back, the market was great, valuations were high. Today, the market is bad, valuations are low. Tomorrow again, markets, emotions will be high, markets will go up,” Singh said, “I worry about business fundamentals, valuations, and share prices come and go.”

“When we raised our last round, markets were insanely bullish. Right now, private markets are significantly undervalued. It’s just a function of how the markets are and not the business,” he said.

Pratilipi has grown steadily over the past year, with its core online literature business now profitable and cash flow positive, according to CEO Ranjeet Pratap Singh. Beyond literature, the platform offers audio content through Pratilipi FM and comics and has expanded into publishing and podcasts with acquisitions of Westland Books and IVM Podcasts.

The company is now focusing on two new content formats—animation and vertical short drama. Unlike traditional OTT shows, vertical short dramas feature 60 to 100 bite-sized episodes, each lasting 30 to 120 seconds.

Pratilipi is also looking to expand internationally. Currently, 6-7% of its revenue comes from overseas, mainly from NRIs rather than targeted global efforts.

About Pratilipi 

Founded in 2015 by Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Prashant Gupta, Sahradayi Modi, Rahul Ranjan and Sankaranarayanan Devarajan, Pratilipi runs several content platforms, including Pratilipi Comics, IVM Podcasts, Pratilipi FM, and publishing house Westland Books.

The platform hosts 16 million stories from 1.6 million writers. So far, it has licensed six stories that have been adapted into TV shows on Star Plus, Star Bharat, and Colors, as well as streamed on OTT platforms like JioHotstar and Amazon Mini TV.

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