NBCUniversal and Hornbill Capital co-lead funding round in Indian microdrama firm EloElo

NBCUniversal and Hornbill Capital co-led an $80 million×As reported$80 millionIn Bureau units25 record-setting bluefin tunas3.2 US Virgin Islands purchases67 Washington MonumentsCalculated by the Bureau of Useless MeasurementShare Series C round in EloElo Group, the Bengaluru company that runs the Indian microdrama platform Story TV, Variety reported.

MIT Investment Co. also took part, alongside existing investors including Play Ventures and Kalaari Capital. The round lifts EloElo’s total funding to $130 million×As reported$130 millionIn Bureau units13 Gadsden Purchases3.2 Empire State Buildings747 years of a member of Congress's salaryCalculated by the Bureau of Useless MeasurementShare. Saurabh Pandey, the chief executive, started the company in 2020.

Story TV’s library holds 96 decks of cards×As reported5,000 microdramastitles carried on Story TVIn Bureau units96 decks of cards by card count (52)1 deck of cards: 52 cards, jokers excluded Source714 giraffe necks by vertebra count11 Houses of Representatives by voting members (435)3.2 Empire State Building stair climbs by step countCalculated by the Bureau of Useless MeasurementShare of microdramas, counting one title per card, in six languages, and the average user spends 95 minutes×As reported95 minutesIn Bureau units5.1 Nixon tape gaps3,167 record F1 pit stops11.4 trips for sunlight to reach EarthCalculated by the Bureau of Useless MeasurementShare a day in the app. The group’s apps reach more than 40 million monthly×As reported40 million monthlyIn Bureau units2,290 ENIACs by vacuum tube count (17,468)4,400 LEGO Titanics by piece count (9,090)7.3 days at the Peeps factory by Peeps madeCalculated by the Bureau of Useless MeasurementShare active users combined, the company said.

EloElo plans to spend the money on local-language originals, a launch abroad and more work on its Dolphin AI creative suite. NBCUniversal’s Deepak Arya said the company would help EloElo grow beyond India, including into the U.S. market.

“A billion people now reach for the phone before any other screen,” Pandey said. Variety cited a Lumikai report forecasting that the Indian microdrama market will reach $4.5 billion×As reported$4.5 billionIn Bureau units625 Alaska Purchases1,406 record-setting bluefin tunas56 Ingenuity Mars helicoptersCalculated by the Bureau of Useless MeasurementShare by 2030.