Former PhonePe executive Suyog Gothi assumes the role of VP & India country head at Pocket FM

Former PhonePe executive Suyog Gothi has been appointed Vice President and India Country Head of audio over-the-top (OTT) platform Pocket FM. Gothi will lead the platform’s operations in India in this role, collaborating closely with co-founders Rohan Nayak and Nishanth KS. His responsibilities include:

  • Overseeing Indian operations.
  • Implementing strategic initiatives to enhance Pocket FM’s market dominance.
  • Playing a pivotal role in driving the company’s growth across the country.

With a focus on scaling up the user and writer community, Gothi aims to foster sustainable growth.

 

A graduate of IIT Madras, Gothi previously headed the merchant lending division at PhonePe and played a significant role in scaling up its UPI payments business. Expressing enthusiasm for his new role, Gothi stated, “I look forward to advancing our mission, fostering innovation, and empowering voices across the nation’s diverse auditory landscape.”

 

Nishanth KS, co-founder and COO at Pocket FM expressed confidence in Gothi’s strategic vision, which aligns seamlessly with the company’s expansion and innovation goals.

 

Founded in 2018 by Nayak, Prateek Dixit, and Nishanth KS, Pocket FM offers a variety of audio content, including long formats, audio shows, stories, novels, and podcasts. The platform collaborates with writers and voice actors to create content in multiple Indian languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla, Hindi, Kannada, and Marathi.

 

In financial terms, Pocket FM’s India arm significantly reduced its net loss by 56% year-on-year (YoY) from INR 171.6 Cr in FY22 to INR 75.7 Cr. On the revenue front, there was a remarkable surge of 663% YoY from INR 17 Cr in FY22 to INR 129.7 Cr in FY23.

 

Pocket FM secured debt funding of $16 Mn from Silicon Valley Bank to support its expansion efforts last year. This funding aimed to enhance the platform’s audio library, boost its creator community, and accelerate revenue growth. Before this, the startup had raised $93.5 Mn in funding from investors such as Lightspeed, Goodwater Capital, Times Internet, Tencent, and others.