Kuku FM CEO Alleges Smear Campaign By Pocket FM

Audio OTT platform Kuku FM’s cofounder and CEO Lal Chand Bisu has alleged that the startup’s rival Pocket FM has undertaken a smear campaign against it. 

In a post on X, Bisu said, “This is the standard of my competitor founders. Playing completely dirty games! They still think they can beat the competition through fake PR and paid Twitter trends.” 

He posted a screenshot of a chat along with his post, which showed someone alleging that Pocket FM’s PR agency was behind the trending posts against Kuku FM on X.

At the time of writing this story, “KUKUFM FRAUDULENT METHODS” ranked fourth on X with close to 2,400 posts. While the content of a majority of such posts seemed to be unrelated to Kuku FM, some users complained about the refund process of Kuku FM. 

“Refunds are processed partially with no visible audit trails or reference IDs, erasing the ability to dispute or verify payments,” a user posted on X.

Sources within Kuku FM told Inc42 that Pocket FM seems to have hired a social media agency to besmirch Kuku FM’s name as it has initiated discussions with investors to raise fresh capital. 

Yesterday, Moneycontrol reported that the startup was looking to raise $70 Mn (INR 600 Cr) in a fresh funding round, which would be led by Granite Asia. The sources confirmed that the startup is in early discussions for the funding round but didn’t give a timeline for its close. 

Meanwhile, Pocket FM rubbished the allegations made by Bisu. In a statement, a Pocket FM spokesperson said, “These are baseless allegations. We are disappointed and hurt to see unfounded personal accusations that misrepresent us and cross the line. We prefer investing our energy in innovation rather than being distracted by unproductive noise.”

Race Heats Up In The Indian Audio OTT Space

It is pertinent to mention that the two startups were at loggerheads with each other in 2022, with Pocket FM filing a case against Kuku FM. Pocket FM alleged that Kuku FM was in contravention of copyright law for publishing audio summaries of a few books that the former had an exclusive licence for. Kuku FM settled the case in December 2022 and agreed to take down the content for which the exclusive rights were held by Pocket FM.

Earlier this year, Pocket FM bagged $103 Mn in its Series D funding round led by Lightspeed, with participation from Stepstone Group. The startup’s valuation soared to $750 Mn with the fundraise. 

In May 2025, Inc42 reported that Pocket FM was facing multiple lawsuits in the US, where about 11 “independent contractors” alleged that it circumvented a number of US statutes and laws related to the classification of workers, wage provisions and working conditions. 

Pocket FM was alleged to have created a contractual trap and deliberately misclassified employees, didn’t provide minimum wages, and more. Earlier in the year, Inc42 also reported that the startup was looking to fire 75 employees “to ensure long-term sustainability”.

Meanwhile, Kuku FM also fired 300 on-roll and off-roll employees in a restructuring exercise in November last year.

Both the startups operate in the Indian audio OTT space which is growing at a rapid pace. Statista projects the market to grow from to $3.2 Bn in 2030. 

Besides, the booming microdrama market is another segment which the two startups are eyeing. As per the Moneycontrol report, Kuku FM is looking to use the fresh funding to further its footing in the microdrama segment. 

Kuku FM, with its offering Kuku TV, has gained significant traction in the rapidly growing vertical short video drama format. Meanwhile, Pocket FM has also been trying its hands at the content and has a dedicated channel on YouTube named Pocket FM Drama.