Pocket Entertainment Launches AI-Powered Comics Platform 'Pocket Toons', Invests $15 Million for Expansion

Pocket Entertainment to invest $15 million to scale Pocket Toons | Marketing | Campaign India

Pocket Entertainment, the recently revamped parent organisation of Pocket FM and Pocket Novel, unveiled Pocket Toons, an AI-powered comics system to revolutionise content creation and distribution. The platform uses Blaze!, an AI-powered studio that increases production speed by 1900% while promising to slash down costs by 66% of the conventional methods adopted. By automating tasks such as background rendering, scene composition, colouring, and quality control, Pocket Toons frees up content creators to focus purely on storytelling. The platform currently completes three episodes per day for a comic, which, the company informs, is faster than the industry average of releasing one episode per week. From the time of its last month's beta launch, Pocket Toons has introduced 30+ titles, with users spending one hour per day on the platform on average. With this launch, while the total reading time has crossed 60 lakh minutes during the last one month, the number of downloads have crossed one-lakh in the past two weeks, the company informs. Pocket Entertainment has allocated a budget of $15 million for 2025 to scale up its operations and is targeting to achieve an annual turnover run rate of $100 million by 2026. Pocket Toons personalises audience engagement powered by its AI curation engine which recommends creation of content based on specific user preferences. The built-in analytics helps the organisation adapt comics for diverse cultural and linguistic audiences, thus, promising it to accelerate its global reach. The global comics market is expected to reach $11.39 billion by 2028 and $15.38 billion by 2033, growing from $8.63 billion in 2023, according to statistics shared by the company. Growth in this market, it infroms, is driven by AI-powered content creation, digital adoption, and mobile-first reading experiences. Pocket Toons integrates customised AI models for artists, real-time AI rendering, and AI-powered search and quality control. Each artist receives an AI model that aligns with their style, and intelligent scene-matching ensures artistic consistency. This development at Pocket Entertainment comes in the wake of recent news of the organisation laying off 75 employees as part of its restructuring. Last year, its popular audio OTT brand, Pocket FM reportedly crossed INR 1,000 crores in revenue in FY-2024. Its advertising revenue reached INR 893.4 crores, posting a seven-fold growth. The brand previously experimented with various consumer engagement models including crowdsourcing of sonic branding via collaborations with musicians such as Sneha Khanwalkar.

Pocket Entertainment to spend $15 million on business expansion in 2025 | Marketing | Campaign India

Launches AI-powered Pocket Toons to speed up comic content creation while targeting a global business expansion. Pocket Entertainment, the recently revamped parent organisation of Pocket FM and Pocket Novel, unveiled Pocket Toons, an AI-powered comics system to revolutionise content creation and distribution. The platform uses Blaze!, an AI-powered studio that increases production speed by 1900% while promising to slash down costs by 66% of the conventional methods adopted. By automating tasks such as background rendering, scene composition, colouring, and quality control, Pocket Toons frees up content creators to focus purely on storytelling. The platform currently completes three episodes per day for a comic, which, the company informs, is faster than the industry average of releasing one episode per week. From the time of its last month's beta launch, Pocket Toons has introduced 30+ titles, with users spending one hour per day on the platform on average. With this launch, while the total reading time has crossed 60 lakh minutes during the last one month, the number of downloads have crossed one-lakh in the past two weeks, the company informs. Pocket Entertainment has allocated a budget of $15 million for 2025 to scale up its operations and is targeting to achieve an annual turnover run rate of $100 million by 2026. Pocket Toons personalises audience engagement powered by its AI curation engine which recommends creation of content based on specific user preferences. The built-in analytics helps the organisation adapt comics for diverse cultural and linguistic audiences, thus, promising it to accelerate its global reach. The global comics market is expected to reach $11.39 billion by 2028 and $15.38 billion by 2033, growing from $8.63 billion in 2023, according to statistics shared by the company. Growth in this market, it infroms, is driven by AI-powered content creation, digital adoption, and mobile-first reading experiences. Pocket Toons integrates customised AI models for artists, real-time AI rendering, and AI-powered search and quality control. Each artist receives an AI model that aligns with their style, and intelligent scene-matching ensures artistic consistency. This development at Pocket Entertainment comes in the wake of recent news of the organisation laying off 75 employees as part of its restructuring. Last year, its popular audio OTT brand, Pocket FM reportedly crossed INR 1,000 crores in revenue in FY-2024. Its advertising revenue reached INR 893.4 crores, posting a seven-fold growth. The brand previously experimented with various consumer engagement models including crowdsourcing of sonic branding via collaborations with musicians such as Sneha Khanwalkar.

Pocket Entertainment launches AI-led comics platform, earmarks $15 million investment

Pocket Entertainment, the parent company of Pocket FM and Pocket Novel, has introduced Pocket Toons, an AI-supported comics platform that integrates AI to assist in storytelling and content creation, improving speed, quality, and accessibility. To support its growth, Pocket Entertainment has allocated $15 million in 2025 to expand Pocket Toons and aims to reach $100 million in ARR by 2026. At the core of Pocket Toons is Blaze!, an AI-powered studio designed to assist artists and writers in their creative process. Blaze! helps streamline the production of high-quality, episodic content at a significantly faster pace and lower cost compared to traditional methods. Blaze! simplifies processes such as background rendering, scene composition, colouring, and quality control, allowing artists to concentrate on storytelling and character development rather than technical obstacles. With Blaze!, Pocket Toons has simplified content production, enabling the release of three episodes per day -- a significant improvement in an industry where the standard is typically one episode per week. This increased efficiency ensures a steady stream of fresh, engaging content for readers. Since its beta launch in January 2025, Pocket Toons has gained traction, hosting over 30 comic titles and achieving strong engagement, with users spending an average of 60 minutes daily on the platform. Pocket Toons has seen strong engagement in its beta phase, demonstrating user interest in this new way of experiencing comics. Users are spending over an hour daily on the platform, with paying users exceeding two hours. Total reading time has surpassed 6 million minutes, and downloads have exceeded 100,000 in the past two weeks. Rohan Nayak, co-founder & CEO of Pocket Entertainment, highlighted AI's role in entertainment, stating, "The fusion of AI and human storytelling marks the beginning of a new creative era. Historically, every major evolution in entertainment -- be it cinema, animation, or digital streaming -- has been driven by technology. At Pocket Entertainment, we are harnessing AI to amplify human creativity -- empowering artists to push the boundaries of storytelling without replacing their unique artistic expression. By integrating AI into the creative workflow, we are not just increasing efficiency -- we are unlocking new possibilities for storytelling at an unprecedented scale. Our users on Pocket Toons are loving it, spending over 60 minutes daily. AI-powered comics aren't the future -- they're happening now." Shreyas Joshi, SVP of Pocket Toons, elaborated on AI's impact on the comics industry: "The demand for high-quality, episodic content has never been higher. We are producing content 20x faster at a third of the cost, making high-quality comics more accessible than ever. Blaze! supercharges artists' workflow while preserving creativity and originality, setting a new global benchmark for AI-powered storytelling. It amplifies the capabilities of artists, allowing them to produce more without sacrificing their originality or the quality of their work. Pocket Toons is not about replacing human creativity -- it's about enhancing it. As we look ahead, AI-driven platforms like ours will be instrumental in shaping the future of entertainment, bridging the gap between artistic ambition and scalable production." "India is making its mark on the global AI stage, and Blaze! is the latest proof of how India is building AI for the world. I am incredibly proud that Pocket FM, a pioneer in the audio entertainment revolution, is now expanding its vision with the launch of Pocket Toons. With its proprietary AI-powered studio, Blaze!, Pocket Toons is setting new benchmarks in the comics industry -- redefining storytelling by blending human creativity with AI-driven efficiency. This is not just about speed and scale; it's about democratising comic creation, empowering artists, and making high-quality storytelling more accessible than ever before. As one of our portfolio companies, Pocket FM continues to push the boundaries of innovation, proving that India is at the forefront of shaping the future of global entertainment." said Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed. The comics industry is undergoing significant changes. Valued at $8.63 billion in 2023, the global comics market has grown at an annual rate of 7.8% since 2018. It is projected to reach $11.39 billion by 2028 and $15.38 billion by 2033. AI-driven content creation, increasing digital adoption, and mobile-first reading experiences are expected to contribute to this growth.

Pocket Entertainment launches 'Pocket Toons' AI-driven comics platform

Pocket Entertainment, the parent company of Pocket FM and Pocket Novel, has introduced Pocket Toons, an AI-driven platform designed to innovate in the realm of comics and storytelling. The company highlighted that the core of Pocket Toons is Blaze!, an AI-powered studio that significantly accelerates content creation. Blaze! enables creators to produce high-quality episodic content 20 times faster than traditional methods while slashing production costs to one-third. This technology automates processes such as background rendering, scene composition, coloring, and quality control, allowing artists to concentrate on narrative and character development. Consequently, Pocket Toons delivers three episodes daily, a stark contrast to the industry's weekly episode release standard. Since its beta launch in January 2025, Pocket Toons has displayed notable growth, featuring over 30 comic titles. The platform has engaged users for an average of 60 minutes daily. Pocket Entertainment has committed $15 million to expand Pocket Toons, with a target of achieving $100 million in annual recurring revenue by 2026. During its beta phase, Pocket Toons has witnessed users, particularly paying subscribers, spending over 2 hours daily on the platform, with total reading time surpassing 6 million minutes. Additionally, downloads have exceeded 100,000 within the last two weeks. The global comics market, valued at $8.63 billion in 2023, is projected to reach $15.38 billion by 2033, with AI significantly influencing this growth. Factors driving this expansion include the rise of digital platforms and mobile reading experiences. Pocket Toons is accessible for download on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store, utilizing a micro-payments model where users pay for what they read. Speaking about the transformative role of AI in the entertainment industry, Rohan Nayak, Co-founder & CEO of Pocket Entertainment, stated, The combination of AI and human creativity marks the dawn of a new era in storytelling. Throughout history, technological advancements have driven major shifts in entertainment -- from cinema to animation to digital streaming. At Pocket Entertainment, we're leveraging AI to enhance human creativity, enabling artists to explore new storytelling possibilities without losing their unique artistic voice. By integrating AI into the creative process, we're not only improving efficiency but also opening up vast new avenues for storytelling on an unprecedented scale. Our users on Pocket Toons are embracing this innovation, spending more than 60 minutes daily. AI-powered comics aren't the future -- they're here today. Commenting on AI's impact on the comics industry, Shreyas Joshi, SVP of Pocket Toons, explained,