EloElo Group raises $80 Million in Series C funding led by Hornbill Capital, NBCUniversal

EloElo Group, the consumer AI and entertainment company behind Story TV, has raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, as it looks to build an AI-led entertainment ecosystem.

MIT Investment Co. and existing investors Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Waterbridge Ventures, Griffin Gaming Partners and others also participated in the round, the company said in a statement.

The company plans to use the capital to fund new original content across languages, launch its micro-dramas internationally and double down on Dolphin AI, its recently launched agentic AI creative suite.


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Founded in Bengaluru in 2020 by former Flipkart executive Saurabh Pandey, EloElo Group operates Story TV, which it describes as India’s No. 1 micro-drama platform. The platform has a slate of more than 5,000 micro-dramas across six languages, with a new drama launched every three hours. Users spend an average of 95 minutes on the platform every day, according to the company.

Across its apps, EloElo Group has more than 40 million monthly active users. The group also operates Master, a micro-learning platform, and Voxy AI, an interactive AI companion agent.

The latest funding round takes the company’s total capital raised to $130 million. EloElo said it recorded multi-fold revenue growth over the past year and has scaled with profitable unit economics.

The company said its business model combines content, distribution and an AI-powered production engine.

Read more: Eloelo group-owned micro-drama platform Story TV appoints Manan Mehta as senior vice-president, strategy and content

“A billion people now reach for the phone before any other screen, and the entertainment built for them will be video first, in their own language, in episodes that fit their day. That is the business EloElo Group is building: an AI-powered entertainment ecosystem that brings the next billion viewers storytelling beyond just clips,” said Pandey, founder and CEO of EloElo Group.

“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. Consumer AI will change how content is created, distributed and consumed, and we intend to lead that shift from India,” he said.

Pandey said the Series C would deepen the company’s content across languages, with a sharper focus on premium originals, strengthen Dolphin AI and take its offerings to more audiences and markets.

Micro-dramas are among the fastest-growing formats in global entertainment. Citing Omdia, EloElo said the industry is expected to generate $14 billion globally by the end of 2026.

In India, Redseer estimates that 40 million people paid for a micro-drama at least once in FY26, while Lumikai’s State of India Interactive Media Report projects the market to reach $4.5 billion by 2030, the company said.

Hornbill Capital founder and managing partner Manoj Thakur said the company’s creative capabilities and technology-led approach to scaling content were key to its potential.

“EloElo Group combines strong creative capabilities with the ability to scale content through technology, which is something we deeply believe in. The team’s execution, financial discipline, and AI capabilities position it well for its next phase of growth. We are excited to support them in building category-leading businesses at the intersection of AI & content,” Thakur said.

NBCUniversal executive vice-president for corporate strategy and development Deepak Arya said the company saw significant opportunity in mobile-first storytelling and emerging formats such as micro-dramas.

“At NBCUniversal, we see significant opportunity in mobile-first storytelling and emerging formats like micro dramas to engage audiences and meet evolving viewing habits. Under Saurabh's leadership, EloElo has developed a differentiated, mobile-first approach with a clear focus on content and storytelling, positioning the company for long-term success,” Arya said.

“We're excited to bring NBCUniversal's global capabilities to the partnership as EloElo expands beyond India, including into the U.S. market,” he said.

Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor on the funding round.