Indian storytelling platform nets $48m in round led by PUBG creator Krafton

Pratilipi, a storytelling platform based in India, has raised US$48 million in a series D funding round. To date, the startup has raised US$78.8 million in total.

More funding details

• Lead investor: Krafton, the creator of popular mobile game PUBG
• Other investors: Omidyar Network India, Unacademy co-founders Hemesh Singh and Gaurav Munjal, Locus co-founder Nishith Rastogi, Delhivery co-founder Sahil Barua, Meesho co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey, Udhyam co-founder Mekin Maheshwari, NoBroker co-founder and CEO Amit Agarwal, and Pratilipi CEO Ranjeet Pratap Singh
• Stage: Series D

More company updates

• Pratilipi said it plans to use the freshly raised capital to strengthen its acquisition of intellectual property rights and development across various formats, including audiobooks, podcasts, comics, web series, movies, and games.
• The company added that it would also use the additional investment to expand into several overseas markets.
• Krafton and Pratilipi will work together to identify stories on the app for potential conversion into gaming franchises.
• Pratilipi was founded in 2015 as an online reading and writing platform. Currently, it has more than 370,000 writers and 30 million monthly active readers across 12 Indian languages.
• In the last 18 months, the startup has rolled out two new products – Pratilipi FM and Pratilipi Comics – and acquired two companies, IVM Podcast and The Write Order.
• Krafton, the South Korea-based giant known for the viral game PUBG Mobile, is expanding its footprint in India. In March, it invested US$22.4 million in local esports firm Nodwin Gaming and US$9 million in game-streaming platform Loco.
• Krafton also launched an India-only video game called Battlegrounds Mobile India, which is similar to PUBG Mobile. The latter was banned in India last year, along with several applications with links to China.