Kuku FM owner turns profitable ahead of IPO as microdramas drive a six-fold jump in revenue

Kuku Technologies, the company behind the audio app Kuku FM and the short-video drama app Kuku TV, turned profitable in the financial year ended March 2026, according to its filings reported by Inc42 on 3 October.

The numbers

• Operating revenue: ₹1,484.2 crore, about six times the ₹241.6 crore of FY25.
• Net profit: ₹182.7 crore, compared with a net loss of ₹152.6 crore a year earlier.
• Subscriptions: ₹1,475.4 crore, more than 99% of operating revenue. Advertising brought in only ₹1.9 crore.
• Marketing spend: ₹1,105.1 crore, nearly four times the previous year and about 78% of total expenses.

Almost all of its revenue, ₹1,463.6 crore, came from India. The company says it has a library of more than 20,000 titles in seven languages and over 400 million app downloads.

Why it matters

Kuku’s growth is a sign of how quickly Indians have taken to paying for microdramas, the short, serialised vertical-video shows designed to be watched on a phone in one-to-two-minute episodes. It is also unusual for an Indian consumer app to make money almost entirely from subscriptions rather than advertising.

The catch is the cost. Most of the company’s spending went into marketing to bring in subscribers, so investors will want to know how many of them keep paying once the ads stop.

The IPO

Sebi approved Kuku’s listing in September 2026. Inc42 reports that the issue could raise between ₹2,500 crore and ₹3,500 crore, at a valuation of around ₹15,000 crore. The company has raised more than $156 million, including an $85 million Series C round in October 2025 led by Granite Asia, with Fundamentum Partnership and Krafton among its backers.

What happens next

The company has not yet announced dates or a price band for the IPO.

Sources: Inc42.